Rabbi Steve Leder Rebukes Adam Brody Over Gaza Genocide Comments Rabbi Steve Leder, technical advisor for Netflix's Nobody Wants This, called star Adam Brody's Gaza genocide remarks ignorant and disgusting, while other Jewish groups also criticized the actor. Rabbi Steve Leder, who served as technical advisor for the first season of Netflix's Nobody Wants This, publicly criticized series star Adam Brody on Tuesday for saying Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Rabbi Leder Criticizes Brody CommentsLeder, a prominent Los Angeles rabbi, posted an Instagram video message addressed directly to Brody, calling his comments ignorant and flippant. In the video, Leder said, 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 then condemned Brody's recent interview with GQ magazine, where Brody said, 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. Brody also said he hoped another administration could correct policies that are helping that situation be as awful as it is.Leder responded sharply in his video. Your pronouncement the other day about a genocide in Gaza was truly shocking, he said. 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 added, 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. He concluded with technical advice for Brody: If you know nothing about something, you should say nothing about it.Brody, who plays a rabbi in the rom-com series, has previously said he barely got bar mitzvahed and retained nothing from it. Jews are both a religious and an ethnic group. Leder, who was the technical adviser during season one, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he worked to ensure Jewish representation was authentic.Leder Defends Show AuthenticityAnything in the series that is, for lack of a better way to put it, overtly Jewish I did my best to make sure it was done with authenticity and respect, Leder said. In the comments section of his Instagram post, Leder also defended co-star Kristen Bell, saying, Erin's personal views are clear. She is also a true professional who will not allow this to ruin her excellent work on the show.Bell's character, Joanne, is non-Jewish and falls in love with Brody's rabbi character, Noah. The show returns with its third season on Oct. 22. Leder recently retired from Wilshire Boulevard Temple in 2024 after 37 years at the synagogue. WBT is a pillar of Jewish Hollywood, established in 1929 with financial support from early moguls including Louis B. Mayer, Carl Laemmle, Irving Thalberg and brothers Jack and Harry Warner.Leder remains a prominent voice in American Jewish affairs, authoring books and regularly appearing as a guest on national news programs. A sermon Leder wrote on capital punishment was included in an episode of The West Wing titled Take This Sabbath Day. Not coincidentally, he officiated showrunner Aaron Sorkin's wedding. Leder is also involved in the renovation of WBT's historic building, supported by a membership base that includes a who's who of today's entertainment industry.In a comment to Fox News Digital, Rabbi Yaakov Menken, executive vice president of the Coalition for Jewish Values, also called out Brody as ignorant for calling Israel's actions in Gaza genocide. One of the hallmarks of antisemitism is to irrationally regard Jews as a threat, Menken said. 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 added, 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.Jewish Groups Condemn Brody StatementThe Israeli-American Council also issued a statement expressing revulsion at the ignorant and harmful statement made by Brody. Lies like this are not just fake news, they incite violence that can lead to the murder of innocent Jews, the organization said. Just today, Israeli passengers narrowly escaped death from what was described as an attack. Brody's comments have drawn widespread criticism from Jewish groups and figures.The actor, who has also portrayed Jewish characters such as Seth Cohen on The O.C. , said in his GQ interview that between COVID, a second Trump term, and Israel-Gaza, it's really brought out some different beliefs that I was ignorant to and then disheartened by. Leder's video and the statements from other Jewish organizations mark a significant pushback against Brody's characterization of the conflict.The controversy comes as the third season of Nobody Wants This is set to premiere on Oct. 22, with Brody reprising his role as a rabbi. Rabbi Leder's message to Brody was shared on Instagram and has since been widely circulated. He emphasized that his role as technical advisor was to ensure authenticity and respect for Jewish traditions in the series, and he expressed disappointment that Brody's public comments diverged from that effort.