Nation: Springtime Gala

To celebrate the signing of the peace treaty, the White House was planning to give the largest state dinner in its history. Some 1,300 guests were to enjoy a variety of wines and a roast beef entrée as they sat under red-and-yellow-striped tents pitched on the south lawn. A staff of 260 cooks and waiters was assembled to serve the 130 round tables, covered with yellow, green and white cloths, and decorated with hurricane lamps and forsythia branches. The diners, including congressional leaders, prominent Americans of both Jewish and Arab ancestry, and members...

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