Today, Jerusalem has taken center stage in Israel. It is the focal point of attention as talks between Israel and the Palestinians start in Washington, D.C.

In a candid interview, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak endorsed dividing Jerusalem and placing Jewish sites in the Old City under an independent regime. Barak says:

 "West Jerusalem and 12 Jewish neighborhoods that are home to 200,000 residents will be ours. The Arab neighborhoods in which close to a quarter million Palestinians live will be theirs. There will be a special regime in place along with agreed upon arrangements in the Old City, the Mount of Olives and the City of David."

Barak's first attempt to implement this policy led to the creation of One Jerusalem, an international campaign to keep Jerusalem as the united capital of the Jewish people, which helped stop Barak, Arafat, and Clinton from dividing the Holy City. If Barak and other members of Israel's government want insight into what the political consequences will be if they put Jerusalem on the negotiating table they should spend some time remembering the mass outpouring of opposition to dividing Jerusalem that One Jerusalem represented. If Barak and his colleagues think that this time things will be different they are mistaken.

A legitimate question is: "Is Barak just speaking for the government?"

Yesterday, the Prime Minister's office denied that Barak is speaking for government. In Hebrew they said the opinion he expressed was his own. But in the rest of world, in the United States, no such disclaimer appears to have been made.  In other words, Obama and Abbas have reason to believe that Barak might be speaking for Netanyahu.

Adding to this scenario is the fact that before leaving Israel the Prime Minister met with only one member of his cabinet: Defense Minister Barak.  In fact he canceled a scheduled meeting with his inner cabinet.

We hope that the Prime Minister is making it clear that Jerusalem is non-negotiable. Any scheme to divide Jerusalem is wrong and dangerous. Barak's plan would put Palestinian terrorists right in the center of the holy sites of Christians and Jews.

Today, in their opening remarks to start the talks Abbas mentioned Jerusalem and Netanyahu did not. Is Jerusalem central for the Palestinians but not for Israel? As you read these remarks notice the Prime Minister also does not mention secure borders. Is Israel putting everything on the table?

A few days ago, columnist George Will wrote about the dangers of perpetuating the fantasy that there is a Middle East peace process. Every member of Israel's cabinet should read that warning.

One Jerusalem will be monitoring all matters related to Jerusalem during these dangerous times and we will continue to inform our loyal One Jerusalem family updated of any developments.