At last week’s House hearing on rising antisemitism in higher education, lawmakers confronted UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons about me, an Israeli Jewish scientist suing my own labor union, the United Auto Workers, for antisemitic discrimination.

I was encouraged when Lyons said that he personally opposes the anti-Israel “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” (BDS) movement that the UAW supports. But taking on a powerful labor union — one that represents 48,000 workers across the University of California system — will require more than just words.

The union’s anti-Israel agenda includes much more than just support for the BDS movement. If Lyons is serious about preserving the safety and academic freedom of Jewish students and scholars, he must understand the central role the union played in stoking the atmosphere of fear Jews are experiencing across the UC system.

My campus became a hostile place for Jews after October 7. Instead of defusing the situation, Union officials added fuel to the fire by releasing a statement condemning Israel and encouraging members to attend anti-Israel rallies and encampments.

To me, it was like a knife in the back.

Union officials even established a “union village” within one anti-Israel encampment, a show of solidarity with the camped-out protesters. Their tents sat in the same encampment with banners reading “Glory to the martyrs” and “Student Intifada,” signaling that the union’s muscle and reputation were aligned with those celebrating the October 7 attacks.

I believed the union was contributing to the deteriorating environment for Jews and thought I could be a force for reconciliation. So I joined the UAW as a dues-paying member to engage in dialogue.

Instead, the union treated me as a second-class member. I was excluded from union working groups and cut out of union communications. When I or other Jewish members tried to speak at union meetings, we were mocked, insulted, and shouted down.

Even more unsettling, I discovered that a union committee had created a document called “Who Rules the University of California?” that listed members of UC Berkeley’s Board of Regents who were Jewish or had any connection to Israel. Later, members of an anti-Israel graduate student group allegedly vandalized the home of Regent Jonathan Sures, who was named on the union’s list.

At UC Berkeley, UAW officials are taking steps to use the collective bargaining process to demand that the school eliminate programs and partnerships with the smallest ties to Israel, including those that have nothing to do with the Israeli government or military.

University administrators must not give in. As I saw firsthand in union meetings, the core of the union’s anti-Israel agenda is to delegitimize Jewish ties to Israel and push Israelis — even members of their own union — out of the UC research community. If its demands are met, it would threaten programs across the UC system that enable Israelis to pursue their academic careers.

I felt that the discrimination that my Israeli colleagues and I experienced became a culture of antisemitism. When I raised my concerns to union leadership, they refused to address them.

The message was clear: Jews were not welcome.

In January, I filed a federal lawsuit with the help of the Fairness Center, a nonprofit law firm, arguing that the UAW discriminated against me on the basis of my race, religion, and nationality — in violation of both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and California law.

Far from backing down, the union urged the court to issue a protective order preventing me from publicly disclosing the identities of the union members and officials involved in my discrimination claims.

The same union that I’m suing for discrimination wants to bar me from speaking about what happened to me and who is responsible.

With anti-Israel sentiment growing at American colleges and universities — there have been multiple documented cases of harassment and assault of Jews and Israelis post-Oct. 7 on my campus alone — it all has taken an immense toll on me and my Israeli and Jewish friends.

Why stay and continue dealing with a union that seems to hate me? Because someone needs to hold the union accountable. I’m a microbiologist, not an activist. But I’m fed up — not only for me, but for my Jewish and Israeli colleagues who deserve to pursue their academic careers free from discrimination.

I applaud lawmakers who are shining a light on these abuses. I never imagined I’d feel unsafe as a scientist working in America. But that’s my reality, and it’s a warning for Israeli Jews working in higher education.

American universities have long welcomed scholars from around the world to contribute their knowledge. But when labor unions abandon their members and claim that alleged illegal discrimination is just politics, Jews may have no choice but to take our talents elsewhere.

Karin Yaniv is an Israeli Jew and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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How Unions Are Quietly Fueling Campus Antisemitism