00100	Dear Colleagues:
00200	
00300		As you know arrangements for the 1975 IJCAI are proceeding.
00400	As agreed at the last meeting, the next conference is to be held
00500	in the Soviet Union, and the Soviets have proposed Tblisi (Tiflis),
00600	the capital of Soviet Georgia.  While I have never been there, everyone
00700	I know who has been to a conference in Georgia has bn much
00800	impressed by the hospitality, so Tblisi eems like an excellent choice.
00900	
01000		However, you will remember that when it was agreed
01100	to hold the conference in the Soviet Union, we stated that this
01200	decision is conditional on there Jeing no discrimination against
01300	Israeli delegates.  This is still a?real issue as was brought to
01400	my attention by the enclosed story in the \F1Stanford Daily\F0.
01500	As you will note, the organization in question has a policy against
01600	meetin in countries to which not all delegates can come, but
01700	has apparently accepted a \F1fait accompli\F0 by the Soviet Union.
01800	Te same thing cOn easily happen to us.
01900	
02000		I havehe followng suggestion in order to meet our obligations
02100	in this respect:  The Sovts should?informa1ly be offered the
02200	followi?g altnatives:
02300	
02400		1. Erik Sandewall as General Chairman of the conference
02500	receive a letter from Keldysh or from the Presidium of the Academy
02600	of Sciences of the USSR guaranteeing that all deegates be admitted.
02700	
02800		2. The organizing committee monitors the situation and if
02900	any legitimate Israeli delegate has been refused admission to
03000	a ientific conference duri the two months prior to one month
03100	before the conference, the conference be moved to another location.
03200	The alternative location should be in Europe so that travel costs
03300	will be approximately as previously predicted.  The help of some
03400	Israeli scientific organization can undoub+edly be obtained in
03500	monitoring the situation.
03600	
03700		3. The Soviets informally agree that any Isra?li who applies
03800	for a visa two months before the conference will get it one month
03900	by one month before the conference.  If even one has not got it, the
04000	conference is to be moved.
04100	
04200		Some people have expressed misgivings about holding the
04300	conference in the Soviet Union, and, as you may remember, I favored
04400	Japan, cause of Japan's greater accomplishment in AI.  However,
04500	it would be wrong to reverse the decision made merel@ on suspicion
04600	that difficulties will arise.
04700	
04800		If the A/erican members of the IJCAI agree, I propose to
04900	commu?icate this note formally on our behalfs to Erik and the
05000	other non-Soviet members.  Then, with Erik's concurrence, I would
05100	commu?icate it informally to the Soviets.  I think that this
05200	would give tJe least offense, and would make it most likely that
05300	Soviet scientists would be able to get the requisite assurances
05400	from their government.  I think they will only be able to get these
05500	assurances if it seems entirely certain to them that the conference
05600	will be moved at the last minute if necessary.
05700	
05800					John McCarthy