Adam Brody was criticized by Rabbi Steve Leder, the former technical advisor for “Nobody Wants This,” who called the actor an “ignorant Jew” for his comments about Palestine.
“Hi Adam, you may not remember me. My name is Rabbi Steve Leder and I was the technical advisor for Season 1 of ‘Nobody Wants This,'” he began in Brody’s social media video, responding to comments recently published in GQ in which he called Israel’s Gaza offensive a genocide.
“My job was to make sure your character was authentic and everything about Judaism in Season 1 was authentic,” he continued.
“Your statement the other day about a genocide in Gaza was truly shocking, not only because you misused and misdefined the word ‘genocide’. There is no genocide in Gaza. There are genocides in other countries, but you did not mention any of them.”
“You are, by your own admission, a relatively ignorant Jew, and your ignorance was indeed revealed the other day,” Leder said.
“If you’re going to use a word like ‘genocide,’ you need to know what it means,” Brody said, calling the term “so presumptuous” and “disgusting” and likening it to “asking for a table for two at Craig’s.”
“Here’s some more technical advice: If you don’t know anything about something, you shouldn’t say anything about it.”
Brody previously told GQ when asked about his stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict: “Insult me for thinking it’s genocide. Insult me for wanting a free Palestine.”
He added that he “hopes another administration can do some really good things and fix some of the policies that helped make this situation so terrible.”
In Netflix’s hit series, Brody plays Rabbi Noah Roklov, who begins an unlikely romance with non-Jewish podcaster Joanne Williams, played by Kristen Bell.
As the series progresses, the formerly agnostic podcaster makes the decision to convert to Judaism mid-relationship while learning about her family’s culture.
Brody’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment Wednesday evening.
Brody isn’t the first celebrity to spark controversy by commenting on the conflict.
Earlier this month, “Thrift Shop” hitmaker Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” after delivering a “Free Palestine” speech mid-performance, leading to a “painful falling out” with his costar.
Other openers from Sheeran’s tour, as well as his own support band, pulled out of the tour to support Macklemore, who pledged proceeds from the tour to Palestinian charities and then organized his own “Free Palestine Tour” starting in October.