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Nobody Wants This, Except the Audience — A Jewish Perspective on Netflix’s Latest Hit
Small toy figures are seen in front of displayed Netflix logo in this illustration taken March 19, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration.
Netflix’s new series, Nobody Wants This, has captured global attention with its unique premise: a romance between Rabbi Noah Rocklov (Adam Brody) and Joanne (Kristen Bell), an agnostic sex podcast host. Created by Erin Foster, herself a Jewish convert, the show follows their unlikely connection despite their vastly different backgrounds.
The show’s popularity transcends cultural boundaries, ranking first on Netflix in many Muslim countries including Lebanon (currently at war with Israel), Turkey, and the UAE. It holds strong positions in Bahrain (2nd), Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, as well as Qatar (3rd), Morocco (4th), and Saudi Arabia and Oman (5th). It also tops charts in Israel, the United States, Canada, Iceland, Nigeria, Ukraine, Germany, and numerous other countries.
While some critics have suggested that the show contains antisemitic elements, particularly in its portrayal of Jewish women, this criticism doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Rabbi Lexi Erdheim, a Reform Rabbi at Temple Beth El in Charlotte, NC, acknowledges some “tired tropes,” but maintains that “the depictions are not egregious enough that it would make me turn off the show. There is enough humanization of Jewish characters, and the show grapples with questions and shares a lot of richness about Judaism that I can see past the tropes.”
Screen Rant writer Dani Kessle Odom points out that even Esther (Jackie Thon), who the show’s writers demonize as the main antagonist to Joanne, is shown as a supportive wife, caring mother, and loyal friend, demonstrating the show’s nuanced character portrayal of even the most antagonistic of the Jewish women.
The show’s relationship with Judaism is notably well-informed, with former Wilshire Boulevard Temple Senior Rabbi Steve Leder serving as rabbinical consultant. The series deliberately maintains ambiguity about Noah’s specific Jewish denomination, featuring Conservative prayer books in the Temple, while showing practices more aligned with Reform Judaism.
The show portrays several concepts that are central to Judaism and Jewish practice, and it does so in a touching and positive manner, making it more an expression of philosemitism than antisemitism.
Noah is described as being a truly good person. We see time and again, that Noah is kind, considerate, and endearing, often caring about others far more than himself, which makes him the positive foil to the self-centered tropes of the majority of the other characters (both Jewish and non-Jewish alike). To him, the position of a community Rabbi, regardless of which denomination of Judaism he comes from, means serving the community and working to help others achieve their own spiritual goals and guide them to a more fulfilled life.
As the show progresses and Noah gets caught up in his own ambition and dream to become the head rabbi of his congregation, It is surprisingly Joanne, his non-Jewish love interest, who teaches him about being honest with one’s self as well as others. This becomes a turning point, where Noah recognizes that she can help him become a better rabbi, a better person, and help people, something which he views as one of the highest ideals and which ultimately brings him closer to her.
The interfaith issue:
Interfaith marriage in Judaism carries varying degrees of taboo, with Orthodox communities potentially shunning or excommunicating those who intermarry, sometimes extending consequences to their families. While Conservative Judaism is less strict, most of its rabbis won’t perform interfaith ceremonies. Reform and Reconstructionist movements are more lenient, though traditionally their rabbis have avoided officiating interfaith marriages. A significant shift occurred when the Reform rabbinical school Hebrew Union College announced in June 2024 that rabbinical students in interfaith relationships could study for ordination, provided they commit to maintaining Jewish households.
As Rabbi Erdheim noted, “If one spouse is a rabbi then you would expect the household to be Jewish. If you’ve chosen to dedicate your personal and professional life to leading the Jewish people, then you would have a Jewish home.” However, clergy are still held to stricter standards than congregants, and in many communities, it is still taboo for a rabbi to be in an interfaith relationship — a central tension that drives the show’s plot.
The pork issue:
Orthodox Jews strictly avoid pork as non-kosher. For further elucidation on this please see this article: Reform Jews generally disregard kosher laws — except for the clergy. Rabbi Erdheim added, “It’s a complex question and the Reform community runs the gamut of kashrut observance from observing the laws, to not observing them.”
The wine issue:
In the first episode, Noah insists on opening Joanne’s wine bottle despite her offers to help — a scene that appears to showcase his chivalry but inadvertently touches on a deeper Jewish law. Orthodox Jews won’t drink uncooked wine touched or poured by non-Jews. This is a 1,800-year-old rule stemming from concerns about wine used in idol worship called [Stam Yainam]. Though Joanne is merely agnostic, Noah deftly navigates the potentially awkward moment with self-deprecating charm. As Rabbi Erdheim notes, while Reform rabbis are aware of this law, most don’t observe it: “I would be shocked to encounter a Reform rabbi who has a problem if a non-Jew poured them wine nowadays.”
Wrestling with God:
Again in the first episode, Noah tells Joanne that “baked into the Jewish experience is the concept of wrestling with what God is or isn’t and not knowing.” This is a long-standing concept in Judaism dating back to the term Israel itself, which comes from Genesis 32:28, where an Angel gives Jacob the name Yisrael because he struggled [sarita] with God [‘elohim] and with humans and has prevailed.” Since then, Jews have always struggled with the concept of what God is or isn’t and how best to worship God leading to a multiplicity of views, understandings, arguments, and acceptance of living in a state of uncertainty.
Shabbat Candles:
The concept of lighting candles at the beginning of Shabbat can be dated back to the end of the Second Temple. In Episode 5, Noah explains to Joanne that there are different interpretations of the two-candle custom. While commonly representing either the dual commandments “keep” (Shamor) and “remember” (Zachor) the Shabbat, or representing both spouses, Noah shares a lesser-known meaning: the candles symbolize the two destroyed Temples, suggesting Shabbat’s eternal nature transcends physical structures. This interpretation, cited by Rabbi Efraim Palvanov, traces back to the 13th-century Baal Haturim (Rabbi Jacob Ben Asher), who connects the Shabbat candles to the Temples’ eternal light (Ner Hatamid) and that continuing to light Shabbat candles carries on the concept of the eternal light from the Temples. Interestingly enough, this is something that I, a practicing Jew my entire life, was unaware of and only learned after investigating the statement that Noah made in the show.
Judaism is a unified nuanced religion
Judaism is a nuanced religion, with a lot of people who are uninformed about those nuances, how many streams of Judaism there are, and how each one tries to keep the beauty of the religion in the modern world. Even in Orthodoxy, there are hundreds of different styles and permutations of customs, communities, and identifying factors. What unifies us, is that we all strive to find the value of our voice and purpose within the religion, to continue to pass on the gifts and wisdom that we were given in our heritage, and use them to build a better world for our children and be a light unto the nations. There are also some external aspects that unify us, among them in a negative context is antisemitism, which affects all Jews regardless of their belief or with which segment of Judaism they identify.
It is certainly a struggle, and often the message of Jewish wisdom gets diluted, confused, or scorned by those we wish would receive it. Yet the struggle continues. In the words of one of my former mentors Rabbi Nathan Lopez Cardozo, the concept of Jewish faith is to struggle with Judaism and with God, and learn to live with that continuous struggle while constantly striving to improve upon the world.
I believe that this is a concept that the show embodies as well, in its context, while sharing some of the beauty of Jewish culture, heritage, wisdom, and messages to the world, so that we can continue to engage with each other, be kind and honest people, and continue to grow while helping others around us grow and be better as well. This is indeed a far cry from being antisemitic, which some have erroneously claimed the show to be.
Raphael Poch is a religious Orthodox Jewish husband and father. He works as the Senior Manager of PR for Aish and moonlights as a journalist, improviser, and theater aficionado. He currently lives with his family in Efrat, Israel.
The post Nobody Wants This, Except the Audience — A Jewish Perspective on Netflix’s Latest Hit first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire

Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel

People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns

Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
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