While the Jewish world (not to mention so many others) debates the future of Jerusalem, and presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McMcain regularly speak about this nation’s commitment to Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel (even though the former has spoken about both a divided and an undivided city as possible options), I wonder if we are all missing the real story of the city’s division.
Forget about shared sovereignty between Israelis and Palestinians. Could it be that Israelis themselves have already begun the process of dividing Jerusalem, not between two nations, but between those citizens of Israel who feel at home in Israel’s capitol and those who do not?

This recent article from Ha’aretz about Jerusalem may render moot all discussions about sharing Jerusalem with others, given that Israelis are finding it increasingly difficult to share the city with each other. It brings to mind Abraham Lincoln’s House Divided Speech, (inspired by the words found in Matthew 12:25), warning us about the inability of a nation to survive when its constituent parts can not even support each other.
Is Jerusalem really the capitol for all Jews? How do we account for an urban reality which hardly reflects the experience of most Jews, even if it often makes my life a whole lot easier? Should we not all be concerned about the following situation described in Uzi Benziman’s opinion piece, entitled A Remote Ultra-Orthodox City?

Two items appeared next to each other in yesterday’s newspapers: One announced the decision by Hadash MK Dov Khenin to run against incumbent Ron Huldai for Tel Aviv mayor; the other announced that the Agudat Yisrael secretariat had selected Meir Porush as its candidate for Jerusalem mayor. The Tel Aviv race was given a great deal of space, while the report on the capital got a few lines at the bottom of the page. Usually countries devote special attention to their capitals….
For years the Jewish/ultra-Orthodox component in the Jerusalem landscape has been increasingly crowding out the colorful mosaic that characterized it in the past. Not only secular and moderate Orthodox people have become a minority in the city – the multinational and multi-religious minorities that once bustled through the city’s streets seem to have withdrawn in the face of ultra-Orthodox domination….
This city is struggling over the definition of its basic identity when it surrenders to the ultra-Orthodox assault, which is increasingly turning it into Bnei Brak. This result will render unimportant the great controversy with the Palestinians over Jerusalem.

An overly harsh assessment? Perhaps. A bit shrill and Cassandra-like? Almost certainly. A call for an “Abrahm Lincoln” who will stop demagogue-ing the issue of Jerusalem? Absolutely.
But only when those most committed to a “united Jerusalem” work as hard to unite the city’s residents as they do to maintain it’s territorial integrity, will the claim about Jerusalem being an undivided capitol be worthy of that discussion. And if that doesn’t happen, it will be a city in a nation divided against itself, in which case, we already know what will happen and who is to blame.