Here's my advice on how Israel and the Palestinian Authority should proceed with their so-called "proximity" talks mediated by George Mitchell.

Instead of putting the hot-button issue of Jerusalem last on the agenda, the issue should be addressed first. If the Jerusalem question is solved, everything else should fall into place more easily.

I believe there is a way to keep Jerusalem unified. I am talking not only of the old walled city, which is a very small part of the city of Jerusalem, but the whole city, east, west, north and south.

All three major faiths see Jerusalem as special. It makes no sense to say it is more sacred to one group than another. But, we know that when Jordan controlled that city after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Jordanians made the old walled city of Jerusalem and the area called East Jerusalem "Judenrein," a Nazi term meaning "free of Jews."

The Jordanians destroyed every synagogue and residence in the Jewish quarter of the old walled city. They expelled its Jewish inhabitants to Israel and even destroyed parts of the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives using the ancient tombstones as building material for the Jordanian army's latrines.

In contrast, after Israel captured all of East Jerusalem, including the old walled city, during the 1967 Six-Day War, Arabs were permitted to remain and those of every religious and non-religious persuasion were given access to the whole city of Jerusalem, including the walled city with its holy places.

Jews now pray at the Western Wall, having been denied the right to do so during the 19 years of Jordanian rule. Christians have access to and control all of the ancient sites holy to them. Muslims continue praying at their two mosques built on the site where Solomon built and Herod rebuilt the Jewish Temple. Jerusalem has never been more accessible since the ancient days of the Kingdom of Judea when the city was the Jewish capital, having been so designated by King David who won it by defeating the Jebusites.

But reciting history does not solve the current problems facing the negotiators representing Israel and the Palestinian Authority in their newly begun indirect talks. Almost everyone believes Jerusalem must remain open to all. Can that continue to exist if both Israel and the Palestinians want their national capitals to be located in Jerusalem? The answer, I believe, is yes. East Jerusalem is now shared by Jews and Arabs. There are 280,000 Jews living in that part of Jerusalem, including in the old walled city.

My suggestion is to situate the new Palestinian capital in that part of East Jerusalem that is occupied overwhelmingly by Palestinians, allow the inhabitants of East Jerusalem -- Jews, Christians, Muslims and those living elsewhere in the city -- to pick the state to which to pledge their allegiance and to cast two votes -- one in municipal elections for one mayor to govern the entire city of Jerusalem, and a separate vote in national elections related to the Jewish and Palestinian states living peacefully side by side.

Jerusalem is now roughly two-thirds Jewish and one-third Muslim. The Christian population is about 2 percent. All under the proposal would be voting for a single city council and one mayor. Based on the current population, the mayor would be Jewish. If the demographics changed over the years in favor of the Muslims, a Muslim mayor could be elected.

New York City with its model of five borough presidents is a good model to emulate with Muslim and Jewish areas electing borough presidents to respond to the local needs of the inhabitants. If I could live and govern when I was mayor with Andy Stein as borough president of Manhattan, the mayor of Jerusalem can live and govern with a borough president elected in the Palestinian part of East Jerusalem.

As for the peace talks currently underway, I think that it is ridiculous that they are indirect, since heretofore, the talks were direct. Also, the fact that the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Abu Mazen, is unwilling to say he on behalf of his people recognizes the legitimacy of the Jewish state of Israel is grounds for understandable suspicion on the part of the Israelis. What President Obama should do through Mr. Mitchell is ask that there be matching statements at the beginning of the talks and before the fate of Jerusalem is discussed, with Israel recognizing once again the need for a two-state solution, and the Palestinians publicly announcing in Arabic, Hebrew and English their acceptance of the Jewish state of Israel living side by side in peace with a Muslim state.

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Thanks to your interest, support, and ideas, New York Uprising - the group I'm leading along with Henry Stern of NY Civic, Dick Dadey of Citizens Union, and others - has quickly become a strong voice in the statewide dialogue about the immediate need for reform.

Whether you came to the initial meeting at my office, or pulled me aside at an event to ask "How can I help?", or you are simply someone I respect as a fellow reform-minded leader: You have been our inspiration in these early stages, and remain the reason I am confident of our ultimate success.

Now I want to update you, among our earliest supporters, on some of the fast-moving progress we've made in recent weeks:

• All four candidates for Governor (expected and declared) signed our pledge to support nonpartisan independent redistricting, and to veto any redistricting plan that does not bear that mandate.
• Virtually every major paper in the state has reported on New York Uprising, and six major editorial boards have declared their support.
• We are actively using new media tools like Facebook and Twitter to get our message out. Last week, I wrote my first "tweets"!
• New York Uprising incorporated as a PAC.
• I traveled to Albany with Dick Dadey and Henry Stern to testify before the Senate Committee on Government Operations, on behalf of New York Uprising.
• We hired two staff members who will manage the effort on a day-to-day basis, Mark Botnick and Adam Riff. They are always available to you.

And be on the look-out for our immediate next steps:

• We are inviting all candidates for State Legislature and US Congress in New York (including incumbents) to sign reform pledges.
• We will launch a state-of-the-art website, and continue to aggressively and creatively pursue both new and traditional media opportunities.

Finally, I am pleased to report that initial seed funding for this effort is in hand. However, further funds are needed to make this campaign effective and to take advantage of this special time in our State's history.

I hope you will consider supporting my efforts and New York Uprising with a financial contribution.

Contributions are payable to "New York Uprising PAC" and may be mailed to the following (note contributions are not tax-deductible):

Jim Capalino, Treasurer
New York Uprising
233 Broadway, Suite 850
New York, NY 10279

Thank you in advance for your additional support. I am gratified to know we are in this together.

Please let me know if you have questions.

Sincerely,

Mayor Edward I. Koch
Founder, New York Uprising