The Immigrant Absorption Ministry is planning an official march in Jerusalem on Sunday in honor of the tens of thousands of Israeli citizens, many of them immigrants from the former Soviet Union, who fought the Nazi army in the Second World War. The march will be attended by government and city officials. Similar events will take place throughout the country.

Approximately 1.5 million Jews fought the Nazis as part of various world armies, and tens of thousands more fought in underground resistance groups.  An estimated 250,000 Jews were killed in battle against the Nazis and their allies. An estimated 30,000 Jewish veterans of the war now live in Israel.