After the hearing, she said: “I was sitting in a bible class, which wasn’t so great for the teacher because my phone kept ringing. Anyway, I’m thrilled because the judge understood the issue. She realized it is not a question of money; they awarded a very small sum. She realized it’s a matter of El Al changing its policy, which they have been ordered to do.”

Ms. Rabinowitz was represented in court by the Israel Religious Action Center, the public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel, a liberal stream of Judaism. The center has also fought Israeli bus companies and the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety over gender segregation on buses serving ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.

“This is a common story; it happens to many,” Anat Hoffman, the director of the group, said of the pressure on women to change seats. Ms. Hoffman called the verdict “a breath of fresh air” and compared Ms. Rabinowitz to the Israeli actress who starred in the movie “Wonder Woman.” “Like Gal Gadot, Renee has superpowers,” she said.

El Al’s lawyers argued in court that passengers often ask flight attendants to reseat them to be closer to a relative, or farther from a crying baby, or for many other reasons. The airline’s policy, the lawyers said, was to accommodate such requests whenever possible, “in a way that does not inconvenience other passengers” or cause delays.

El Al denied that it discriminated against women, saying its reseating policies applied equally to men. And the airline argued that the principle of taking religious sensibilities into consideration has been defended and recognized in Israeli courts. But the court found that asking people to move because of their gender violated Israel’s anti-discrimination codes.