Rabbi Louis Isaac Rabinowitz was born in Scotland in 1907. His father, Rabbi Jacob Rabinowitz, had emigrated from Eastern Europe to become a rabbi in Edinburgh, Scotland. Jacob Rabinowitz was the descendant of a long line of Lithuanian rabbis. I have written previously about his Haggadah, which was published in 1907. He later moved to London and was rabbi of the Montague Road Beth Hamedrash in Hackney.
Rabbi Louis Rabinowitz was a Jewish and secular scholar as well as a spell-binding orator with a fiery personality and zeal for justice. He served as Rabbi, before World War II, in several London synagogues, including Shepherds Bush, South Hackney and Cricklewood.
During the war he was appointed Senior Jewish Chaplain of the British Army, and this book, about Palestinian Jewish units was published in 1944.
In 1945 he was appointed Chief Rabbi of South Africa. He was a staunch Zionist but also an early outspoken anti-Apartheid leader and made it clear that he would not continue as Chief Rabbi of South Africa once the National Party government decided to break away from the British Commonwealth. He emigrated to Israel
Rabbi Rabinowitz gained notability by publicly discarding his military decorations in 1947 in protest of British policies in Mandatory Palestine, which he viewed as a violation of Britain’s mandate.
His political positions in Israel were right wing. He was a founder of the Movement for a Greater Land of Israel and opposed Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. He fell out with his friend, Prime Minister Menachem Begin, over this issue.
Jewish Miscellanies 
I could tell you a lot more about him, my great uncle, not least being his neighbour for the last 3 years of his life, and being present the night of Tisha bav when he passed away. His famous war medals and his smicha from Rav Kook are presently in David Latchmans judaica collection in London.
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