OBSERVER
Avis Car Rental Bars Israeli Executive from Renting
by Ken Kurson
November 22, 2015

Upper West Side clerk and manager defy company policy, decline Israel passport and license…On Saturday evening, Dov Bergwerk arrived at the Avis branch on West 76^thStreet and Broadway. Accompanied by his wife Ruth, the Bergwerks were planning to join friends for dinner in Westchester. Mr. Bergwerk, a senior vice president and general corporate counsel at the Israeli pharmaceutical giant Teva, got out his driver’s license, reservation number and “Wizard” loyalty card – he’s rented from Avis dozens of times before – and anticipated the usual smooth transition into a nondescript mid-sized sedan. That’s when the trouble started. A reservation agent named Angelline declined to honor Mr. Bergwerk’s reservation, saying that it was company policy not to recognize Israeli documents. Stunned, Mr. Bergwerk explained that he had rented from Avis many times, including a car from that very same office on Thursday, November 19 – only two days earlier. READ MORE