MIDDLE EAST: Visits, and Voices of Hope

Cairo and Jerusalem have often been on the same diplomatic wave length, but the words emanating from the two capitals have usually been bellicose or scornful. Last week their moods meshed again but, for a change, the tone was optimistic. Israeli leaders praised Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for the way he has switched home-front priorities from war planning to such economic goals as the reopening of the Suez Canal this spring. "If this tendency grows," promised a key Israeli Cabinet minister, "we will concede a lot, although we will not be squeezed."

In Cairo, Egyptian leaders who in December had damned...

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