An Israeli postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, alleged that the United Auto Workers Union participated in antisemitic discrimination in a federal lawsuit filed in late January.
Karin Yaniv, a microbiologist who worked with the Israeli Health Ministry on COVID-19 early detection and had been studying at Berkeley since 2022, said that the union has created a ‘culture of antisemitism,’ according to the Fairness Center.
Yaniv claimed that the UAW, which represents around 48,000 academic workers, violated both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.
According to the Fairness Center, which represents her, Yaniv’s complaint outlines various instances of discriminatory actions taken by the union.
Examples include encouraging union members to participate in anti-Israel rallies, supporting an anti-Israel encampment by establishing a ‘union village’ within it, and allowing an Israeli union member whose relatives were kidnapped on October 7 to be mocked and insulted when she protested against the union’s anti-Israel agenda.
Additional actions encompassed segregating Jewish members by withholding information and opportunities given to other members, and passing anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) resolutions.
The ‘union village’ was set up the day after Israel approved a military operation in Rafah and was the first of its kind to be established at a UC anti-Israel encampment.
Nathan McGrath, president and general counsel for the Fairness Center, said: “Karin alleges UAW officials knowingly and repeatedly discriminated against her based on her race, religion, and national origin, violating the Civil Rights Act and state law. She believes the union violated its own rules by treating her as a second-class member and empowering other union members to harass Israeli Jews.”
'An atmosphere of hostility and terror for Israeli Jews'
According to the complaint, the union’s actions “fostered an atmosphere of hostility and terror for Israeli Jews.” It also states that the UAW is committed to ending any partnerships and programs with ties to Israel across the UC system, which could potentially restrict the ability of Israeli Jews to complete their graduate studies.
As a result of the union’s actions, many Israeli Jews have resigned from the union to protect their own well-being.
Yaniv commented on the situation, saying, “As an Israeli Jew, I cannot sit by as union officials support anti-Israel encampments, pursue the anti-Semitic BDS movement, and aspire to push out Israeli academics from the University of California community.”
She added, “I tried to reform the union from within but was greeted only by more hate and abuse. I hope my lawsuit shows the thousands of others represented by the union what it is saying and doing in their name and ends the harassment I've experienced.”
In June last year, Yaniv’s campus building, Koshland Hall, was damaged by a firebomb set off by pro-Palestinian protestors in retaliation to the university system’s response to anti-Israel protests at the University of California, Los Angeles.
The Fairness Center provides free legal services to people who have been affected by the actions of public-sector unions, like Yaniv.