Renee Rabinowitz

Renee Ginsberg Rabinowitz (born 1934) is a Belgian-born American-Israeli Holocaust survivor, psychologist, and lawyer. She fled Europe with her family in 1941 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.

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

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

El Al discrimination lawsuit

In December 2015, Rabinowitz was flying business class 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. 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. 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 six months to comply with Israeli discrimination law. After the verdict, IRAC lawyer Riki Shapira Rosenberg said they expected this to be extended to other airlines.

Related incidents 
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. 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.

Personal life
Rabinowitz has three children from her first marriage. She was divorced from her first husband in 1986 and married Rabbi Stanley M. Wagner of Denver, Colorado in November 1990. She gained two stepchildren through her marriage to Wagner. Rabinowitz and Wagner made Aliyah to Israel in 2006 but frequently visits the United States. As of 2017, Rabinowitz lives in an assisted-living facility in Jerusalem.

Awards and honors 
In 2016, Rabinowitz was included in the BBC 100 Women list of most influential women.

Selected works

References

Category:Belgian women lawyers
Category:1934 births
Category:Date of birth missing (living people)
Category:Holocaust survivors
Category:20th-century Belgian women
Category:Belgian emigrants to the United States
Category:American women lawyers
Category:20th-century Belgian lawyers
Category:21st-century Belgian lawyers
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:Indiana University faculty
Category:20th-century psychologists
Category:21st-century psychologists
Category:American women psychologists
Category:Belgian psychologists
Category:20th-century Israeli lawyers
Category:21st-century Israeli lawyers
Category:Colorado College faculty
Category:Notre Dame Law School alumni
Category:Lawyers from New York City
Category:American emigrants to Israel
Category:Israeli people of Belgian-Jewish descent
Category:Israeli people of American-Jewish descent
Category:American people of Belgian-Jewish descent
Category:People with acquired American citizenship
Category:Naturalized citizens of Israel
Category:Israeli psychologists
Category:20th-century Israeli women
Category:21st-century Israeli women
Category:20th-century American women
Category:21st-century American women
Category:21st-century Belgian women
Category:BBC 100 Women
Category:Jewish American social scientists
Category:Living people