In the mood prevailing after the end of the Second World War, the choice of Chief Rabbi fell on a man perceived to be of broad tolerance and impeccable English antecedents. Israel Brodie was born in Newcastle, educated at Oxford, had served as Rabbi in Australia, was evacuated from Dunkirk, and had finished the War as Senior Jewish Chaplain. Preferring persuasion to confrontation, he led the community through the difficult days caused by the end of the British Mandate in Palestine, and presided over the post-war expansion of the United Synagogue. From 1948 until his retirement in 1965, Brodie was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

A dignified man of great presence, he was also a mellifluous preacher. Through the Conference of European Rabbis, which he founded and led, Brodie took a significant part in rebuilding the religious life of European Jewry after the Holocaust. He undertook a number of pastoral tours throughout the Commonwealth, and strengthened the community in a quiet but significant manner, although the closing years of his tenure were overshadowed by religious dispute. On his retirement, he was knighted "for services to British Jewry"; the first Chief Rabbi to be so honoured.