On May 8, 1973, members of the Senate Commerce Committee met with President Richard Nixon to brief him on their April visit to the Soviet Union. This meeting was captured by recording devices in the Oval Office of the White House.
The conversation turned to the proposed legislation that would become the Jackson-Vanik amendment as well as barriers to Jewish emigration from the USSR. In this conversation segment, Senator Howard Cannon recounts his private meeting with Jewish scientists in a Moscow park. Cannon relays the situations of five men, each of whom had been ultimately denied visas to leave the Soviet Union and four of whom lost their jobs as a result of applying. Cannon indicates that, rather than the education tax, these scientists stated concern about harassment and their inability to leave the USSR. Cannon discusses the issue of security clearances, their effect on emigration restriction, and the affected proportion of Jewish people wishing to emigrate. Members of the American Jewish community shared with Cannon repercussions of this Moscow meeting, including possible forced service of one man's son, disconnection of telephone lines, and difficulties in outside contact. Cannon then discusses the validity of security restrictions.
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The Nixon Presidential Library has prepared captions, which may be accessed through the Closed Caption button. The National Archives does not guarantee the accuracy of these captions.
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AUDIO RECORDING
Conversation 913-005, Audiotape 913 (NARA Identifier #7450083), Oval Office Sound Recordings, White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, College Park, MD and Yorba Linda, CA.
[ Ссылка ]
IMAGE
WHPO-E-0767-10A, White House Photo Office Photographs (NARA Identifier #194277), Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, College Park, MD and Yorba Linda, CA.
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For more information, please visit the Nixon Library at www.nixonlibrary.gov or contact us at 714-983-9120 or nixon@nara.gov
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