Jerusalem was lit in pink this week as the city marked Breast Cancer Week.

In a special ceremony on Monday, the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem were lit in pink. The ceremony marked the beginning of an entire week of activities to mark Breast Cancer Week. Susan G. Komen for the Cure partnered with the City of Jerusalem and Hadassah for these events.

Monday’s ceremony was presided over by Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. Also present were US Ambassador James Cunningham, Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder Nancy Brinker, Komen Global Ambassador Hadassah Lieberman, and Hadassah National President Nancy Falchuk.  The Israel Museum, where the ceremony took place, lit the Shrine of the Book up in pink as well.

The flagship event of the week will be the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Israel, which will take place on Thursday with over 5,000 participants, including many breast cancer survivors, taking part. It will be hosted by Mayor Barkat.

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure movement is named after a woman who fought breast cancer while thinking of ways to make life better for other women battling breast cancer instead of worrying only about her own situation. The movement was founded by her sister Nancy Brinker, who was moved by Susan’s compassion for others even as she lost her own battle. Nancy promised her sister that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has invested nearly $1.5 billion in the fight against breast cancer since 1982, and is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists.  Since its inception it has given research grants totaling $2.4 million to Weizmann Institute, Tel Aviv University, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Hebrew University-Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, the Israel Institute of Technology and Bar Ilan University. All in all, Susan G. Komen for the Cure has granted nearly $3 million to organizations in Israel including research institutes, hospitals and academic centers and advocacy groups.

The mission trip to Israel is similar to ones the movement has sponsored in recent years to the Middle East, Western Europe and Africa.