A Russian presidential decree entered into force on January 1, 2018, ordaining lifetime benefits for veterans of the “Great Patriotic War” (a.k.a. WW2) who live in Israel, TASS reported.

According to the directive, a monthly benefit of 1,000 rubles ($17.30) will be awarded to Israeli nationals who used to live in the Soviet Union and were veterans of the Great Patriotic War, or who were underage prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.




In addition, a monthly benefit of 500 rubles ($8.68) will be paid to Israeli citizens who hold the title of “Citizen of Besieged Leningrad,” widows and widowers of servicemen who died during the War with Finland, the Great Patriotic War, the War with Japan and former adult prisoners of Nazi concentration camps.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, some 10,000 veterans of the Second World War live in Israel.

According to TASS, a total of 1.5 million Jews served in allied armies during WWII, one-third of them in the Red Army and partisan units in Nazi-occupied territory of the Soviet Union. An estimated 206,000 of them gave their lives in combat.

150 Jews were declared Heroes of the USSR.