Renee Rabinowitz

Renee Ginsberg Rabinowitz (1934 – May 19, 2020) was an American-Israeli psychologist and lawyer. She was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Belgium, but fled with her family to the United States in 1941, following the outbreak of World War II, and grew up in New York City. She earned a doctorate in educational psychology at the University of Chicago, and a law degree at Notre Dame University. She taught psychology at Indiana University, and later served as in-house legal counsel at Colorado College. In 2016, Rabinowitz was included in the BBC 100 Women list of most influential women. In 2017, she successfully sued El Al, after the airline forced her to move her seat on a Newark–Tel Aviv flight at the request of a Haredi Jewish man who refused to sit beside her due to his religious beliefs.

Renee Rabinowitz
Born
Renee Ginsberg Rabinowitz

1934 (1934)
Belgium
DiedMay 19, 2020
Jerusalem, Israel
NationalityBelgian, American, Israeli
Other namesRenee Wagner
CitizenshipUnited States
Israel
Alma materUniversity of Chicago (MA, PhD)
Notre Dame Law School (JD)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1991; died 2013)​
Children3
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology, law
InstitutionsUniversity of Indiana
Colorado College

Early life and education

Rabinowitz was born in Belgium in 1934. Her family fled The Holocaust in 1941 to the United States.[1] She grew up in New York City, before leaving the city to attend the University of Chicago, where she earned masters and doctoral degrees in educational psychology.[2][3] Her 1969 Master's thesis was titled, The perceived locus of control of reinforcements among sixth-grade Negro children.[4] Her 1974 dissertation was titled, Personal Causation, Role-Taking, and Effectiveness with Peers: A Study of Social Competence in Elementary School Children.[3]

She also earned a law degree from Notre Dame Law School.[5]

Career

Rabinowitz taught psychology at Indiana University.[5] She later served as in-house legal counsel at Colorado College,[5][6] and as a professional volunteer at the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma.[5]

El Al discrimination lawsuit
Further information: Gender separation in Judaism § Transportation

In December 2015, Rabinowitz was flying business class on an El Al flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Tel Aviv, Israel. After being seated next to a Haredi Jewish man, the man 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 was forced to move seats.[7][8] 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.[7][9]

In June 2017, Rabinowitz was awarded 6,500 shekels (about $1,800). The trial also ruled that El Al's practice of requiring unwilling passengers to accommodate Haredi religious mores violated the country's Prohibition of Discrimination in Products law. The court required El Al to update its policy within six months to comply with Israeli discrimination law.[7][8][9][10] After the verdict, IRAC lawyer Riki Shapira Rosenberg said they expected this to be extended to other airlines.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12]

Personal life

Rabinowitz had three children from her first marriage.[13] She was divorced from her first husband in 1986,[14] and married Rabbi Stanley M. Wagner of Denver, Colorado, in November 1990.[13] She gained two stepchildren through her marriage to Wagner. Rabinowitz and Wagner made Aliyah to Israel in 2006, but frequently visited the United States.[15] She lived the final years of her life in an assisted-living facility in Jerusalem.[8] Rabinowitz died on May 19, 2020, in Jerusalem.[1]

Awards and honors

In 2016, Rabinowitz was included in the BBC 100 Women list of most influential women.[16][17]

Selected works
  • Rabinowitz, Renee G. (1978). "Internal-External Control Expectancies in Black Children of Differing Socioeconomic Status". Psychological Reports. 42 (3): 1339–1345. doi:10.2466/pr0.1978.42.3c.1339. S2CID 144061853.
  • 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. "Pardes Mourns the Passing of Dr. Renee Rabinowitz z"l". Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. May 21, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  2. Sommer, Allison Kaplan (June 22, 2017). "El Al Can No Longer Ask Passengers to Change Seats to Accommodate ultra-Orthodox Men, Israeli Court Rules". Haaretz. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  3. Rabinowitz, Renee (1974). "Personal Causation, Role-Taking, and Effectiveness with Peers: A Study of Social Competence in Elementary School Children". Retrieved September 15, 2018 – via ProQuest.
  4. Rabinowitz, Renee Ginsburg (1969). The perceived locus of control of reinforcements among sixth-grade Negro children (Thesis). OCLC 277071581.
  5. Brom, Danny; Pat-Horenczyk, Ruth; Ford, Julian D. (October 6, 2008). Treating Traumatized Children: Risk, Resilience and Recovery. Routledge. ISBN 9781134092154.
  6. "Class News". The University of Chicago Magazine. April 1997. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  7. Beaumont, Peter (June 22, 2017). "Israeli airline can't make women move seats for religious reasons, court rules". The Guardian. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  8. Kershner, Isabel (September 12, 2018). "Israeli Woman Who Sued El Al for Sexism Wins Landmark Ruling". New York Times. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  9. Wootliff, Raoul (June 22, 2017). "In landmark ruling, El Al ordered to end policy of asking women to move seats". Times of Israel. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  10. Sharan, Jeremy (June 22, 2017). "Israeli court: Haredi calls for women to move seats on El Al now illegal". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  11. Baynes, Chris (April 4, 2018). "Israeli authorities block adverts urging female airline passengers not to move seats for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men". The Independent. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  12. Weiss, Mark (June 26, 2018). "Airline moves women from seats due to ultra-Orthodox passengers". Irish Times. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  13. Draper, Electa (March 8, 2013). "Rabbi Stanley Wagner memorial Monday at The Denver Synagogue". The Denver Post. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  14. Kershner, Isabel (February 26, 2016). "She Was Asked to Switch Seats. Now She's Charging El Al With Sexism". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  15. "Rabbi Wagner leaves multifaceted legacy". Intermountain Jewish News. February 28, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  16. "BBC 100 Women 2016: Who is on the list?". BBC News. November 21, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  17. Webber, Aimee Lee (November 23, 2016). "BBC's list of the world's most inspirational and influential women for 2016". CEO World. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
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