Renee Rabinowitz

Renee Rabinowitz
Born Renee Ginsberg Rabinowitz
1934 (age 83–84)
Belgium
Residence Jerusalem, Israel
Nationality Belgian
Other names Renee Wagner
Citizenship United States
Israel
Alma mater University of Chicago (MA, PhD)
Notre Dame Law School (JD)
Spouse(s)
Stanley M. Wagner
(m. 1991; d. 2013)
Children 3
Scientific career
Fields Psychology, Law
Institutions University of Indiana
Colorado College

Renee Ginsberg Rabinowitz (born 1934)[1] is a Belgian-born Israeli-American psychologist and lawyer. In 2017, she successfully sued El Al after the airline forced her to move at the request of a Haredi Jewish man who refused to sit beside her due to his religious beliefs.

Early life and education

Renee Ginsberg Rabinowitz was born in 1934 in Belgium. She is a survivor of the Holocaust; her family fled Europe in 1941. Rabinowitz was raised in New York City as an Orthodox Jew.[2][3][4] She attended the University of Chicago where she earned a Master of Arts and doctorate in educational psychology.[5][6] Her 1969 Master's thesis was titled The perceived locus of control of reinforcements among sixth-grade Negro children.[7] Her 1974 dissertation was titled Personal Causation, Role-Taking, and Effectiveness with Peers: A Study of Social Competence in Elementary School Children.[6] Rabinowitz earned a law degree from Notre Dame Law School.[8]

Career

Rabinowitz taught psychology at Indiana University.[8] She later worked at Colorado College where she served in-house legal counsel.[8][9] She is a professional volunteer at the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma.[8] As of 2016, Rabinowitz is a retired lawyer.[10]

El Al discrimination lawsuit

In December 2015, Rabinowitz was on an El Al flight from Newark, New Jersey, US to Tel Aviv, Israel. She was seated next to a Haredi Jewish man, who complained to an onboard flight attendant that he did not want to sit next to a woman because of his religious beliefs. As a result, Rabinowitz had to move seats.[2][3] After speaking to Anat Hoffman, director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the organization filed a court case on her behalf for unlawful discrimination. IRAC represented Rabinowitz at the trial.[2][4] In June 2017, Rabinowitz was awarded 6,500 shekels (about $1,800). The trial also declared it unlawful for El Al to force women to move seats for religious reasons, and in violation of the Prohibition of Discrimination in Products law. The ruling required El Al to update its policy within 6 months to comply with Israeli discrimination law.[2][3][4][11] After the verdict, IRAC lawyer Riki Shapira Rosenberg said they expected this to be extended to other airlines.[11]

In 2018, the Israel Religious Action Center attempted to run an advertising campaign reminding Israeli women that they were not required to change seats at the request of men. The proposed advertisements were blocked by the authorities.[12] In the same year, NICE Ltd. CEO Barak Eilam criticised El Al after they forced women to move seats at the request of Haredi men. Speaking about the incident, IRAC said that the incident was a violation of Rabinowitz's court decision.[13]

Personal life

Rabinowitz had three children.[14] In November 1990, Rabinowitz married Rabbi Stanley M. Wagner of Denver, Colorado.[9] She gained two stepchildren through her marriage to Wagner. Rabinowitz and Wagner made aliyah to Israel in 2006 but frequently visit the United States.[15] He died on February 23, 2013.[14] As of 2017, Rabinowitz lives in an assisted-living facility in Jerusalem.[3]

Awards and honors

In 2016, Rabinowitz was included in the BBC 100 Women list of most influential women.[16]

Selected works

  • Rabinowitz, Renee G. (1978). "Internal-External Control Expectancies in Black Children of Differing Socioeconomic Status". Psychological Reports. 42 (3): 1339–1345.
  • Rabinowitz, Renee G. (1982). "Applicability of the Freedom of Information Act's Disclosure Requirements to Intellectual Property". Notre Dame Law Review. 57 (3).

References

  1. ↑ "Rabinowitz, Renee Ginsburg 1934-". World Cat. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Beaumont, Peter (22 June 2017). "Israeli airline can't make women move seats for religious reasons, court rules". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kershner, Isabel (12 September 2018). "Israeli Woman Who Sued El Al for Sexism Wins Landmark Ruling". New York Times. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Wootliff, Raoul (22 June 2017). "In landmark ruling, El Al ordered to end policy of asking women to move seats". Times of Israel. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Sommer, Allison Kaplan (2017-06-22). "El Al Can No Longer Ask Passengers to Change Seats to Accommodate ultra-Orthodox Men, Israeli Court Rules". Haaretz. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  6. 1 2 Rabinowitz, Renee (1974). "Personal Causation, Role-Taking, and Effectiveness with Peers: A Study of Social Competence in Elementary School Children". Retrieved 2018-09-15 – via ProQuest. (Subscription required (help)).
  7. ↑ Rabinowitz, Renee Ginsburg (1969). The perceived locus of control of reinforcements among sixth-grade Negro children (Thesis).
  8. 1 2 3 4 Brom, Danny; Pat-Horenczyk, Ruth; Ford, Julian D. (2008-10-06). Treating Traumatized Children: Risk, Resilience and Recovery. Routledge. ISBN 9781134092154.
  9. 1 2 "Class News". The University of Chicago Magazine. April 1997. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  10. ↑ Chabin, Michele (2016-02-29). "Israeli-American woman sues El Al after she was asked to change seats". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  11. 1 2 Sharan, Jeremy (22 June 2017). "ISRAELI COURT: HAREDI CALLS FOR WOMEN TO MOVE SEATS ON EL AL NOW ILLEGAL". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  12. ↑ Baynes, Chris (4 April 2018). "Israeli authorities block adverts urging female airline passengers not to move seats for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men". The Independent. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  13. ↑ Weiss, Mark (26 June 2018). "Airline moves women from seats due to ultra-Orthodox passengers". Irish Times. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  14. 1 2 Draper, Electa (2013-03-08). "Rabbi Stanley Wagner memorial Monday at The Denver Synagogue". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  15. ↑ "Rabbi Wagner leaves multifaceted legacy". Intermountain Jewish News. 2013-02-28. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  16. ↑ "BBC 100 Women 2016: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
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