In legal settlement, UC Berkeley promises snubbed Israeli dance scholar a job offer

For over nine months, UC Berkeley has not fulfilled a legal agreement with Israeli dance scholar Yael Nativ, who was unjustly denied a teaching position due to her nationality. In response to a query from J., a university representative attributed the delay to "internal miscommunication." The university has now assured that Nativ will receive the job offer she was entitled to in the December 2025 settlement "no later than the week of Sept. 28."

University spokesperson Dan Mogulof expressed deep regret over the delay and anticipated warmly welcoming Dr. Nativ back to their campus. Nativ confirmed she received an apology and an imminent job offer via email from university administration on September 21. "It's always a surprise when I get emails from them because the correspondence was so little to none," Nativ commented. "I'm so tired of this case."

A UC Berkeley professor criticized Nativ's decision not to rehire her following the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. The department chair, SanSan Kwan, informed Nativ about her non-rehire in November 2023, citing heightened tensions and resentment among graduate students. The university's civil rights office found Nativ was discriminated against based on her Israeli identity.

Nativ pursued legal action against the university, represented by the Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, in August 2025. A settlement was reached in December 2025, with the university acknowledging its mistake and promising to apologize and extend an invitation to Nativ.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons apologized to Nativ over Zoom on February 3, but the job offer never materialized. Malcolm Feeley, a retired UC Berkeley Law professor, publicized Nativ's case in a September 16 article in the Jewish Review of Books. Feeley expressed frustration, stating "Justice delayed is justice denied. This is justice delayed in the extreme. It takes a concerted effort of badgering to get [the university] to move an inch."

In a statement following Feeley's article, Mogulof clarified that the university had not sent Nativ a job offer due to an administrative misunderstanding. Provost Ben Hermalin committed to delivering the offer within the next two weeks. Nativ continued her career as a research fellow at Ben-Gurion University in Israel after leaving Berkeley.

She emphasized her primary objective as advocating for UC Berkeley's accountability rather than securing a job. "It wasn't urgent for me to go [back to campus]. It's more about making a point, getting my justice," Nativ stated. "But if they invite, I will consider."