Long Beach : Soviet Exchange Studied

After listening to strong anti-communist sentiment from a handful of people, the Long Beach City Council this week forwarded a proposal for a sister city with the Soviet Union to one of its committees.

Next Tuesday, the legislative committee is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the plan to become a sister city with Sochi, a resort city on the eastern shore of the Black Sea.

During this week’s council meeting, a few people spoke in favor of the relationship and a few others spoke vehemently against the cultural exchange. “There was a lot of anger and a lot of hatred against the whole idea,” said Richard Madeira, a resident who has worked toward the proposal.

Last month, the Costa Mesa City Council in Orange County voted against a similar plan after listening to testimony from residents opposed to such exchanges with the Soviet Union. The Jewish Community Federation of Greater Long Beach and West Orange County has said it will support the proposal as long as there is a stipulation that the issue of Soviet Jewry and human rights will be part of the open discussion.

Councilman Edd Tuttle, who has worked on the project, said after Tuesday’s meeting that the two countries would greatly benefit from “one-on-one relationships.”