WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A U.S.-based Jewish foundation has held an event in Warsaw to honor Polish gentiles who rescued Jews during the Holocaust, with U.S. and Israeli diplomats also paying their respects to the elderly Poles who put their lives in danger decades ago to save others.

The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous pays monthly stipends to the rescuers in Eastern Europe, who are now in their 80s and 90s and living on small pensions.

The event Sunday, a luncheon, is an additional gesture of gratitude, something the foundation has done for years in Warsaw — the only place in Eastern Europe where there is a large enough number of rescuers to bring together.

All of the rescuers have been recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial.