Full Breakdown
Adam Brody’s Gaza Remarks Prompt Rabbinic Rebuttal
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Actor Adam Brody, who portrays Rabbi Noah Roklov in Netflix’s series *Nobody Wants This*, recently described the conflict in Gaza as “a genocide” and expressed support for a “free Palestine” during a GQ interview. His comments, framed as personal opinion, quickly attracted criticism from Rabbi Steve Leder, a Los Angeles-based rabbi who consulted on the show’s first season. Leder argued that Brody’s language was inaccurate and that presenting an opinion as fact was “terribly wrong.”
Show Context and Public Role
*Nobody Wants This* follows a fictional rabbi who falls in love with an agnostic woman, a premise loosely inspired by creator Erin Foster’s real-life marriage. Because Brody’s character serves as a visible representation of Judaism on a mainstream platform, Leder said the actor’s public statements about Gaza carry “doubly heartbreaking” weight, intertwining personal views with on-screen authority.
Rabbi Steve Leder’s Official Response
Leder emphasized that the term “genocide” has a specific United Nations definition requiring intent to destroy a protected group. He contended that Israel’s war targets Hamas, not any nationality, ethnicity, race, or religion, and therefore does not meet that definition. The rabbi also warned that public figures should refrain from speaking on topics they do not fully understand, urging “if you know nothing about something, you should say nothing.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “Put me down as thinking it's a genocide. 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.” — Adam Brody
- “The flippancy was adding insult to injury, in my opinion, and needed to be addressed,” — Rabbi Steve Leder
- “Israel's war is against Hamas. It is not against a nationality, it is not against an ethnicity, it is not a race, it is not against a religion,” — Rabbi Steve Leder