Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, a former Chief Rabbi of Israel, responded happily Wednesday to the news that his son, Rabbi David Lau, had been elected to the same position.

The Lau rabbinic dynasty has continued for over 35 generations, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau told Arutz Sheva.

This latest accomplishment by a Rabbi Lau is particularly meaningful, he added. While most members of the Lau rabbinic chain lived in Europe, Rabbi David Lau was born in Israel.

His appointment can be seen as an answer to the Nazis, the elder Rabbi Lau said, noting that the Nazi horde murdered nearly all of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau’s family, and put him in a concentration camp.