As Israelis are heading to the ballot box to vote in one of the most important elections in their country’s history, many Jews in the diaspora (myself included) are battling with our own dilemma: whether or not to watch season three of the Netflix show Nobody Wants This.
If you’ve just rolled your eyes, I get it. I realise this quandary may seem foolish to many, but the reality is, at its core is the question that everyone in the Jewish community has been forced to confront in recent years: what kind of Jew do you want to be?
For those at a complete loss as to what I’m talking about, the ‘need to know’ is: Nobody Wants This is a rom-com series centred around the improbable relationship between a non-Jewish, agnostic sex podcaster (Kristen Bell) and a rabbi (Adam Brody). It’s funny, silly, poignant and cool (in an intensely LA kind of way) – and at times, deeply problematic.
From the outset, the show – which to all intents and purposes should be a coup for the Jewish community, filled as it is with Jewish characters, references and themes – has proved divisive and been plagued with controversy.
In season one, there was pushback against the representation of Jewish women, who were universally portrayed as mean, difficult and uptight – in opposition to the non-Jewish women in the show, who were fun, laid-back and friendly. Ouch.
Then came season two, which included an unwelcome cameo from Seth Rogen (who despite building his entire career around his Jewish identity, now spends much of his time disavowing Israel and the rest of the community).
Adding insult to injury, Rogen – who was playing a rabbi – managed to mix-up Tu BiShvat with Tisha B’Av, which left many of us wondering if anyone on the set was actually paying attention, and once again thinking: if this is the kind of Jewish representation we’re getting, surely we could do better.
Despite all of this, I have to admit that I was really quite looking forward to season three. Nobody Wants This is exactly the kind of fantastical, mindless dross I look for in a TV show, and I finished season two eager for more.
And then Adam Brody decided to share his views on Israel’s war with Hamas, flippantly telling GQ: “Put me down as thinking it's a genocide”. Instantly, what should have been some frivolous escapism became very, very heavy.
As a proud Jew and Zionist, it’s hard to think of any area of my life that hasn’t been infected with the poison of Jew-hatred over the last few years. Work, friendships, dating, music, art, film, fashion, food and social media – at every turn, in everything we do, proud, Zionist Jews are now forced to interrogate what stands before us and decide whether is a safe and welcoming space for us. And depressingly frequently, the answer is no.
The ambiguity is exhausting. Just the other day, I found myself Googling “William Morris antisemitism” before ordering a lampshade, just to double check that the arts and crafts pioneer wasn’t a rabid Jew-hater before welcoming one of his designs into my home. Once again, I realise this might sound ridiculous to some people, but when Jewish safety feels so fragile, such precautions feel necessary – to me, at least.
The sad thing is, I’m not alone. On social media, I've seen many other Jewish women having the same debate over whether or not to watch season three of Nobody Wants This.
On Instagram, Leah Grossman (a Florida-based journalist) wrote about feeling conflicted about watching the show, and polled her 1,000+ followers to see where they were at. Fifty two per cent said they would not be watching the show any more, followed by 39 per cent who said “not sure yet”. Just 9 per cent of her followers said yes, they would be watching.
As for me, I’m firmly in the “not sure” camp. While Adam Brody is now in the bin with Seth Rogen and countless other Jewish stars who are more than happy to cash-in on their identity whilst throwing the rest of us under the bus, the show’s writer (Erin Foster) and Brody's co-star Tovah Feldshuh (who plays his mum in the show) have come out against his comments, and made their support of the Jewish state loud and clear.
The problem is, the waters are now well and truly muddied, and that’s something that we not only didn’t want, but very much didn’t need.
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