Israel Abrahams (1903-1973) was Chief Rabbi of Cape Town and a Hebrew scholar. He arrived in South Africa from Lithuania in 1937 and held the position of Chief Rabbi for more than 30 years. In 1938 he was appointed part-time Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cape Town. He wrote extensively and translated Hebrew material into English.

Chief Rabbi Abrahams was selected by the Hebrew University in Jersualem in the 1950s to translate Bible commentaries by Prof Umberto Cassuto from Hebrew into English.