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Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, speaking today in Bar Ilan University, has filled the glass of expectations; it is now up to the beholder to decide if glass is half-full or half-empty. Does one want to focus on Netanyahu's routine rejection of "the claim that withdrawal from territories will bring about peace," or prefer to be startled, even astonished, by Netanyahu's newly proven ability to connect the words "Palestinian" and "state" in one clear sentence?

Shrewdly, Netanyahu spent the previous couple of days behind the smoke screen of low expectations, sending defense minister Ehud Barak to announce as late as this morning that the speech will be "ambiguous." Thus, when the prime minister actually uttered the magic words, the obvious became momentous for Israelis....