Louis Isaac Rabinowitz
Encyclopedia
Louis Isaac Rabinowitz was an Orthodox
rabbi
, historian
and philologist of the 20th century.
, Scotland
, descendant of a long lineage of Lithuanian Rabbis. His grandfather was Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Rabinowitz of Lomza, and his father Rabbi Jacob Rabinowitz immigrated from Eastern Europe to become the Rabbi of Edinburgh
at the end of the nineteenth century. Jacob Rabinowitz later moved to London where he became the Rabbi of the Montagu Road Beth Hamedrash in Hackney
.
Louis Rabinowitz served as rabbi in several London
synagogue
s, including those in Shepherd's Bush
, South Hackney
, and Cricklewood
. During World War II
he was appointed Senior Jewish
chaplain of the British Army
; he served with Allied forces in the Middle East
and during the Normandy invasion.
In 1945 Rabinowitz accepted a position as chief rabbi
of the United Hebrew Congregation of Johannesburg
and the Federation of Synagogues of Transvaal
and the Orange Free State
in South Africa
. He became a professor of Hebrew
at the University of Witwatersrand and headed the Johannesburg beth din
. Rabbi Rabinowitz was an ardent follower of Zeev Jabotinsky and his brand of Revisionist Zionism
.
Rabinowitz gained fame by publicly discarding his British war decorations in 1947 in protest of British policies in the British Mandate of Palestine, which he viewed as a violation of the British Mandate for Palestine. Always outspoken in his political opinions, he was a harsh critic of the South Africa
n National Party
's apartheid policies following the South African general election of 1948
. He became famous for throwing down his British war time medals in public as a demonstration against British policy of the time. It has been argued that this was the reason why his candidacy for the British Chief Rabbinate in the mid-1960s was later passed over in favour of Rabbi Immanuel Jakobowitz.
Rabinowitz retired in 1961 and emigrated
to Israel
; there he became deputy editor-in-chief of the Encyclopaedia Judaica
. He became involved in municipal politics in Jerusalem, serving as a city council representative and (1976–1978)and as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. He also became the Rabbi of the Herut-Etzel Synagogue in the Nahalot neighbourhood of Jerusalem, replacing Rabbi Aryeh Levin
(the Rabbi of the Prisoners) following his death. While his positions on religion were considered to be quite liberal for an orthodox Rabbi, his political positions in Israel
were right wing. He was a founder of the Movement for a Greater Land of Israel and opposed the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula
as part of the Camp David
Peace agreements with Egypt
. He fell out with his friend, Prime Minister Menachem Begin
, over this issue.
He was named a Yakir Yerushalayim
("Worthy Jerusalemite") by the municipal government in 1980.
Rabinowitz died in 1984, at the age of seventy-eight. His funeral was attended by President Chaim Herzog
, with whom he was related, and former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban
. He was intered on Har HaMenuchot
.
He was related to many distinguished Rabbis. His brother, Eliezer Simcha Rabinowitz, was the Rabbi in Cape Town
, South Africa
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Hull
, and finally of Cheadle in Manchester
, all in the UK. A brother-in-law, Rabbi Dr. Julius Newman was the Rabbi of the Notting Hill
community in London
, and another brother-in-law was the noted synagogue stain glass window designer, David Hillman
, the son of Dayan Shmuel Hillman of Glasgow
, and the brother-in-law of Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the first Chief Rabbi
of Israel
. Hillman's windows are to be found in many of the major London synagogues, such as St. John's Wood, Marble Arch, the Central Synaogue, Hampstead Garden Suburb, the New Synagogue (Egerton Road) and the Hendon Synagogue, as well as at the Rananim Synagogue in Jerusalem. His sister, Dr. Fanny Rabinowitz, who immigrated to Israel from London in the early 1950s. was a well known Jerusalem doctor who was influential in founding the nursing school at the Hadassah Hospital. She was also a recipient of the Yakir Yerushalayim
("Worthy Jerusalemite")award, the only brother and sister combination to have been so honoured.
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and philologist of the 20th century.
Biography
Rabbi Rabinowitz was born in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, descendant of a long lineage of Lithuanian Rabbis. His grandfather was Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Rabinowitz of Lomza, and his father Rabbi Jacob Rabinowitz immigrated from Eastern Europe to become the Rabbi of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
at the end of the nineteenth century. Jacob Rabinowitz later moved to London where he became the Rabbi of the Montagu Road Beth Hamedrash in Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
.
Louis Rabinowitz served as rabbi in several London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s, including those in Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, South Hackney
South Hackney
South Hackney is a district in the London Borough of Hackney situated north east of Charing Cross.It is immediately north of Victoria Park and the area centred on Victoria Park Road and Lauriston Road...
, and Cricklewood
Cricklewood
Cricklewood is a district of North London, England whose northeastern part is in the London Borough of Barnet, western part is the London Borough of Brent and southeastern part is in London Borough of Camden.-History:...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was appointed Senior Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
chaplain of the British Army
Royal Army Chaplains' Department
The Royal Army Chaplains' Department is an all-officer corps that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army.As of 2007, there are about 280 serving regular chaplains in the British Army; these can belong to either one of several Christian churches, or to the Jewish faith, although...
; he served with Allied forces in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and during the Normandy invasion.
In 1945 Rabinowitz accepted a position as chief rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of the United Hebrew Congregation of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and the Federation of Synagogues of Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
and the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He became a professor of Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
at the University of Witwatersrand and headed the Johannesburg beth din
Beth din
A beth din, bet din, beit din or beis din is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel...
. Rabbi Rabinowitz was an ardent follower of Zeev Jabotinsky and his brand of Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism
Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement. It is the founding ideology of the non-religious right in Israel, and was the chief ideological competitor to the dominant socialist Labor Zionism...
.
Rabinowitz gained fame by publicly discarding his British war decorations in 1947 in protest of British policies in the British Mandate of Palestine, which he viewed as a violation of the British Mandate for Palestine. Always outspoken in his political opinions, he was a harsh critic of the South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n National Party
National Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
's apartheid policies following the South African general election of 1948
South African general election, 1948
The parliamentary election in South Africa on 26 May 1948 represented a turning point in the country's history. The United Party, which had led the government since its foundation in 1933 and its leader, incumbent Prime Minister Jan Smuts was ousted by the Reunited National Party , led by Daniel...
. He became famous for throwing down his British war time medals in public as a demonstration against British policy of the time. It has been argued that this was the reason why his candidacy for the British Chief Rabbinate in the mid-1960s was later passed over in favour of Rabbi Immanuel Jakobowitz.
Rabinowitz retired in 1961 and emigrated
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
; there he became deputy editor-in-chief of the Encyclopaedia Judaica
Encyclopaedia Judaica
The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 26-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people and their faith, Judaism. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, language, scripture, and religious teachings...
. He became involved in municipal politics in Jerusalem, serving as a city council representative and (1976–1978)and as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. He also became the Rabbi of the Herut-Etzel Synagogue in the Nahalot neighbourhood of Jerusalem, replacing Rabbi Aryeh Levin
Aryeh Levin
Rabbi Aryeh Levin, , known as Reb Aryeh, was an Orthodox rabbi dubbed the "Father of Prisoners" for his visits to members of the Jewish underground imprisoned in the Central Prison of Jerusalem in the Russian Compound during the British Mandate...
(the Rabbi of the Prisoners) following his death. While his positions on religion were considered to be quite liberal for an orthodox Rabbi, his political positions in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
were right wing. He was a founder of the Movement for a Greater Land of Israel and opposed the Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
as part of the Camp David
Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of...
Peace agreements with Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He fell out with his friend, Prime Minister Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
, over this issue.
He was named a Yakir Yerushalayim
Yakir Yerushalayim
Yakir Yerushalayim is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, Israel, inaugurated in 1967.The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to one or more residents of the city who have contributed to the cultural and educational life of the city in some outstanding way....
("Worthy Jerusalemite") by the municipal government in 1980.
Rabinowitz died in 1984, at the age of seventy-eight. His funeral was attended by President Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:...
, with whom he was related, and former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban
Abba Eban
Abba Eban was an Israeli diplomat and politician.In his career he was Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister, Education Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and ambassador to the United States and to the United Nations...
. He was intered on Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot
Har HaMenuchot is the largest cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel. It is located at the western edge of the city adjacent to the neighborhood of Givat Shaul, with commanding views of Mevaseret Zion to the north, Motza to the west, and Har Nof to the south.-History:...
.
He was related to many distinguished Rabbis. His brother, Eliezer Simcha Rabinowitz, was the Rabbi in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, and finally of Cheadle in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, all in the UK. A brother-in-law, Rabbi Dr. Julius Newman was the Rabbi of the Notting Hill
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is an area in London, England, close to the north-western corner of Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
community in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and another brother-in-law was the noted synagogue stain glass window designer, David Hillman
David Hillman
David Hillman was an English operatic tenor who sang with all the leading opera companies in the United Kingdom.- Early career :David Hillman was born in London, England...
, the son of Dayan Shmuel Hillman of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and the brother-in-law of Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the first Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Hillman's windows are to be found in many of the major London synagogues, such as St. John's Wood, Marble Arch, the Central Synaogue, Hampstead Garden Suburb, the New Synagogue (Egerton Road) and the Hendon Synagogue, as well as at the Rananim Synagogue in Jerusalem. His sister, Dr. Fanny Rabinowitz, who immigrated to Israel from London in the early 1950s. was a well known Jerusalem doctor who was influential in founding the nursing school at the Hadassah Hospital. She was also a recipient of the Yakir Yerushalayim
Yakir Yerushalayim
Yakir Yerushalayim is an annual citizenship prize in Jerusalem, Israel, inaugurated in 1967.The prize is awarded annually by the municipality of the City of Jerusalem to one or more residents of the city who have contributed to the cultural and educational life of the city in some outstanding way....
("Worthy Jerusalemite")award, the only brother and sister combination to have been so honoured.