Israelis don’t say thank you very often, said Israel Ambassador Daniel Taub. But the gratitude flowed with the wine at a reception in his home to mark Sir Winston Churchill’s contribution to Zionism and the birth of Israel.

Several of Churchill’s grandchildren— including journalist Emma Soames — and great-grandchildren attended the event, which followed the unveiling a few months ago of his bust in Jerusalem, commissioned by the Jerusalem Foundation.

On the ambassador’s wall hung a copy of a Jerusalem sunset which was painted by Sir Winston when he visited the city in 1921.

Planting a tree on Mount Scopus, he remarked: “I believe that the building of the Jewish national home in Palestine will bring blessing to the whole world.”