These events helped ensure that support for Zionism, and later for Israel, would become a permanent part of American political culture. Every subsequent Republican and Democratic convention has adopted a plank supporting Israel. To do less became politically unthinkable.
The bipartisan support for Israel on Capitol Hill two weeks ago thus represented the continuation of a deeply rooted tradition in the politics of American foreign policy. The seeds sown by the father in 1944 were reaped by the son nearly seven decades later.
Dr. Rafael Medoff is director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies in Washington and the historical consultant on a forthcoming documentary on Benzion Netanyahu.