Rabbi Steve Leder, who served as a technical advisor for the Netflix series "Nobody Wants This," issued a public rebuke to the show's star, Adam Brody, on Tuesday after Brody stated his belief that Israel is perpetrating "genocide" in Gaza.
Rabbi's Public Rebuke
In a video posted to Instagram directed at the actor, Leder began, "Hi Adam, you might not remember me. My name is Rabbi Steve Leder, and I was the technical advisor for Season 1 of 'Nobody Wants This.' My job was to make sure that your character was authentic and that everything in Season 1 about Judaism was authentic."
Leder sharply criticized Brody's comments, labeling them "ignorant." He contended that Brody had misrepresented the situation in Gaza and approached the gravity of the issue with a dismissive attitude.
"Your pronouncement the other day about a ‘genocide in Gaza’ was truly shocking. Not only because of your misuse and mischaracterization of your use of the word genocide — there is no genocide in Gaza, there are genocides in other countries happening, but you failed to mention any of them. You, by your own admission, are a relatively ignorant Jew, and your ignorance really showed the other day," Leder stated. "If you’re going to use a word like ‘genocide,’ you ought to know what it means. And by the way, being so flippant about a word like ‘genocide’ — ‘Hey, put me down for genocide,’ like you’re asking for a table for two at Craig’s — is disgusting. Here’s some more technical advice: If you know nothing about something, you should say nothing about it."
Brody, who portrays a rabbi in the Netflix production, recently suggested in an interview with GQ magazine that Israel is engaged in "genocide" in the Gaza Strip.
"Put me down as thinking it's a genocide," Brody was quoted saying. "Put me down as wanting a free Palestine. It's awful that it's taken so much death and misery, but it does feel like it's reaching a breaking point that it should have a while ago. I'm hopeful that another administration can really do some good and correct some of these policies that are helping that situation be as awful as it is."
Reactions and Broader Context
Menken commented on the broader implications of such statements, asserting, "One of the hallmarks of antisemitism is to irrationally regard Jews as a threat. While Hamas was holding, torturing, raping, and murdering hostages, only a bigot would call the effort to free those hostages ‘genocide.’ An ignorant Jew is no less likely than anyone else to fall prey to hateful indoctrination."
Menken further elaborated on the conflict's dynamics, adding, "As even photographer Motaz Azaiza now admits, Hamas could have ended the conflict in Gaza at any moment, simply by releasing the hostages. In no genocide in history have the victims controlled the off switch. On roughly a daily basis, a prominent Jewish leftist goes on X (formerly Twitter) to say ‘As a Jew’ and then follow it by expressing antisemitic nonsense."
Separately, the Israeli-American Council (IAC) conveyed its "revulsion at the ignorant and harmful statement" made by Brody. The organization underscored the potential ramifications of such claims.
"Lies like this are not just fake news, they incite violence that can lead to the murder of innocent Jews. Just today, Israeli passengers narrowly escaped death from what is being called an attempted terrorist attack on a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv. That's the reality Israelis and Jews live with every day," the organization stated.
