Danya Ruttenberg, Ilana Sumka: Judaism Unbound Episode 472 - Israel-Palestine: “What You’re Against” and “What You’re For”
Danya Ruttenberg is an award-winning author, activist, and rabbi, whose most recent book -- On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World -- won a National Jewish Book Award. Ilana Sumka is a nonprofit leader, experiential educator and community organizer with over 20 years of experience, who recently founded Shleimut: Jewish Paths to Wholeness and Peace. The two of them join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for the 6th episode in an ongoing mini-series, exploring North American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine.
[1] Learn more about Danya Ruttenberg by clicking here, and learn more about Ilana Sumka via this link. For Ruttenberg’s previous appearances on Judaism Unbound, see Episode 243: Organizing the Grassroots and Episode 397: Repentance and Repair.
[2] New courses are now open for registration, in Judaism Unbound's UnYeshiva -- our digital center for Jewish learning and unlearning. Learn more about our online classes by heading to www.judaismunbound.com/classes -- financial aid is available for all courses in the UnYeshiva.
[3] For earlier episodes in this mini-series exploring North American-Jewish discourse about Israel-Palestine, see Episode 466: Israel-Palestine in American-Jewish Discourse (Dan and Lex), Episode 467: Israel and Palestine on Campus (Susannah Heschel), Episode 468: Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, Episode 469: Israel/Palestine — Discourse Online (Mira Sucharov, Joshua Shanes), and/or Episode 471: Israel-Palestine Echo Chambers (Jay Michaelson).
[4] Learn more about the organizations Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun via this 2024 article in Time Magazine.
[5] For a September 2024 post by Ruttenberg, which mentions a Teshuvah (repentance/repair) ritual organized by Sumka, click here.
[6] Sumka referenced a Palestinian peace activist named Sami Awad. You can learn more about him and his work here.
[7] For the Talmudic text cited in this episode, asking “which is greater — study or action?” see Kiddushin 40b.
