Many of us have friends or family who suffer from addiction, and all too often it is only when we cut them off and stop enabling their negative behavior that things can actually change. It is that model of tough love that led me to become a BDS supporter.

Unfortunately the Middle East peace talks started with the best of intentions by President Obama and Secretary Kerry are dead – a victim of Israel’s unfettered development of illegal settlements and Netanyahu’s decision to go back on his promise to free Palestinian prisoners. There is no longer any doubt that Israel has become addicted to settlements, occupation of Palestinian territory and to treating the 23 percent of Israelis who are not Jewish as second-class citizens.

I am a Reconstructionist Jew from Long Island, now living outside Washington DC and for most of my life I was active in Jewish and Zionist activities – as a member, leader and regional director for Young Judaea and over the years as an activist and leader in the American Zionist Federation, local Jewish Federations, JNF, the New Israel Fund, J Street and the Friends of the Arava Institute. For the majority of my life the Zionist perspective on Israel and Palestine was how I understood the situation and targeted my activism.

As I became more involved my eyes were opened by a combinations of factors, involvement in the New Israel Fund, work with well know Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin – a member of Young Judaea when I was a leader – and work on environmental issues and co-existence with the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies since it was founded in 1996.