Two California colleges have reached settlements with Jewish organisations and individuals who filed complaints alleging antisemitism arising from pro-Palestinian campus protests. The University of California, Berkeley has agreed to pay $60,000 to Yael Nativ, an Israeli sociologist and dance researcher who claimed she was not rehired despite the popularity of her class.
UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons issued an apology to Nativ, who was found in a campus investigation to have been the victim of discrimination. She has also been invited to teach her class in a semester of her choosing. Nativ had sued in state court after what she described as an inadequate response to her requests for rehiring and preventive measures.
At Pomona College, officials will hire a federal Title VI civil rights coordinator and create a taskforce on Jewish life and antisemitism following a federal complaint alleging civil rights law violations during the school's response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Some Jewish students said the protests created a 'hostile environment' and that college leaders did little to enforce free speech and nondiscrimination rules.
The cases are part of broader allegations of bias against Jews and Muslims at colleges nationwide since the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. On Tuesday, UC Berkeley announced a six-month suspension without pay of computer science lecturer Peyrin Kao for alleged pro-Palestinian political advocacy in the classroom.
