Mumbai: Adam Brody, who plays Rabbi Noah Roklov in Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, has come out in support of Palestine and called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide”. Not everyone is happy about it.
Rabbi Yael Buechler, who works at The Leffell School in New York, wrote in a column for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) last week that she wasn’t sure she wanted to watch the show’s third season after hearing Brody’s comments.
She had liked the first two seasons, especially how they showed different parts of Jewish life. But she found it difficult to watch Brody play a rabbi while knowing that she disagreed with him on something she felt so strongly about.
“There’s a certain cognitive dissonance that comes with becoming invested in a television character portrayed by an actor whose public statements conflict with one’s own beliefs. It’s especially complicated when that character is a rabbi,” she wrote.
Brody was asked about Israel’s war in Gaza in a September interview with GQ.
“Put me down as thinking it’s a genocide. Put me down as wanting a free Palestine,” he said.
Rabbi Steve Leder, who was a consultant on the show’s first season, was also among those who criticised Brody.
“If you know nothing about something, you should say nothing about it,” he said.
Erin Foster, who created Nobody Wants This, also disagrees with Brody. In a clip from an upcoming episode of the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Foster said that not everyone working on the show has the same political views.
“While I love Adam, I also disagree with him, and that’s OK,” she said.
Foster converted to Judaism before getting married and has called the show a “love letter to Judaism”. She said she understood why Jewish viewers were upset by what Brody had said.
Buechler did end up watching the third season, though. And she liked it.
One thing she was happy about was Joanne’s storyline. Joanne, played by Kristen Bell, is a non-Jewish podcaster dating Noah. For the first two seasons, she hadn’t shown much interest in learning about Judaism. Now she’s finally taking conversion classes.
There are also two new characters. Sarah Silverman plays Rabbi Eden, who teaches Joanne, and Andrew Rannells plays Sebastien, another student in the class.
Buechler liked seeing more of the actual process of converting to Judaism, including the prayers and rituals. And she found she could still enjoy watching Brody as Noah.
She liked how Noah treated Joanne and supported her. Brody’s comments hadn’t stopped bothering her, but she was still able to enjoy his character.
Buechler said she understood why others might not want to watch the show after what Brody said.
“But I’m glad I tuned in,” she wrote.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)