n 1931 Morris and Rose Becker moved from California to the ICOR Commune in Birobidzhan. Morris and Rose fervently believed in socialism and Zionism and pinned their hopes on the Soviet Zion. After several years of living in the commune, the Beckers became disillusioned with the Birobidzhan experiment. They felt that moving their family to the Soviet Union was a mistake. Rose died of sunstroke in 1936. Within a year, Morris died of pneumonia while preparing to bring the children back to America. Their children, Mitchell and Elizabeth, remained in the Soviet Union after their parents' deaths. Mitchell was reported missing in action in World War II. Elizabeth currently lives in Komsomolsk-na-Amure, Russia. She has childhood recollections of the orange groves in California.