I think we should hold 4IJCAI in Tblisi as planned except in
case it looks like Israeli delegates will not be admitted on the same
basis as others.  There has been trouble with this in the past.  For
example, Zohar Manna, then at Stanford, was invited to a Soviet conference
on mathematical theory of computation held at Novosibirsk.  When it
turned out that he was an Israeli, they stalled on his visa and he
didn't get to go.  The other Stanford delegates went, and when we
arrived it still looked as though there was a chance.  I now think
that we should have wired the organizers at the first sign of trouble
that unless a visa for Zohar were forthcoming, there would be no
Stanford attendance.
There has been a recent similar case involving an Israeli geophysicist
who teaches at Stanford.
However, it presently appears that Israeli delegates to international
conferences are getting visas though sometimes at the last minute.

	The issues raised by Minker all existed at the time the decision
was made at 3IJCAI to hold the conference in the Soviet Union.  Bert
Raphael is mistaken in saying that the only complete invitation was
from the Soviet Union.  There were invitations from both Japan and
West Germany, and I personally favored accepting the Japanese
invitation, mainly on the grounds that Japan has done more work in AI
than the Soviet Union, but partly on the grounds mentioned by Minker.

	There are still some facts to be determined about the Soviet
treatment delegates from Israel and possibly other countries like
Nationalist China with whom the Soviet Union doesn't have diplomatic
relations.  (Israelis were the only people at 3IJCAI who might have
trouble except possibly Chileans).  If the situation turns out to be
worse than it presently seems, we might have to move the conference
sicce the issue was raised at 3IJCAI, and informal assurances were
obtained from the Soviet delegates present.