Rabbi L. I Rabinowitz and the Etzel synagogue in Nahlaot

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 MinisterMenachem Begin, over this issue.