First, it now appears that we are witnessing the emergence of a reasoned debate with regard to the future of the territories. We are moving away from messianic arguments one way or another. The messianic voice of Gush Emunim does not carry much weight among many people anymore, even among those who believe we should stay in the territories. By the same token, those who believe that giving the Palestinians a state will automatically bring peace also have little credibility. However, the debate is now beginning to be conducted in a more reasoned and prudential manner to ask what is most likely to secure the very difficult aims of Israel and the Jewish people.
Reasonable people can differ as to what Israel's best course of action is.
The real problem is that we have not been able to get to a reasoned debate. If this change becomes a precedent, encouraging us to have reasoned debates about other issues, including pluralism issues, it will be a very positive thing. Second, the last few years have seen an upsurge of concern for Israel's Arabs on the part of Israel's Jews who have hitherto neglected them, by and large. The Arab citizens of Israel were an unseen people, not so much discriminated against but unnoticed. Now there is emerging a new recognition of the presence of Israeli Arabs and for dealing with a kind of pluralism that most Jews both in Israel and the diaspora did not want to acknowledge existed.