A delegation of Israeli mayors left for Leningrad today to attend the International Conference of Twin Cities. Twin cities are cities in different countries that have “adopted” each other. Mayor Oved Ben Ami, of Nathanya, headed the group which included the mayors of Tel Aviv and Petach Tikvah, but not Jerusalem. Mayor Teddy Kollek, of Jerusalem, was denied a Soviet visa because Moscow does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over East Jerusalem. The other mayors left here without visas but expect to pick them up at the Soviet Embassy in Paris. The delegation is the first from Israel to the Soviet Union since the June, 1967 Six-Day War when Russia broke diplomatic relations with Israel. The Twin Cities conference opens next Friday and lasts for three days. All the delegates will be conducted on a tour of 20 Soviet cities.
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