Yes, he described Palestinians as "the bugs" and said some other really fucking ignorant quotes from that movie without the slightest understanding of Paul Verhoeven's intent (his effort may have been doomed from the start; he even scolded actors on set for "not getting it" and just enjoying the fascism).
I have some license with what I say because I'm moving and transferring out of state in a few weeks but I also don't want to have a bad mark on my record by saying something particularly scary about the IDF, so what should I tell him on Monday?
I don't think it'll help this guy, but when more reasonable people talk about Starship Troopers I like to bring up Norman Spinrad's novel The Iron Dream. Its a meta fiction story in which an alternate history Adolph Hitler immigrated to America and became a science fiction illustrator and then author. He wrote the post-apocalyptic novel Lords of the Swastika where, to us anyway, the evil aliens are obviously just a stand in for jews and the freedom fighters are clearly nazis. It was hugely popular and people loved quoting it and wearing the uniforms at conventions.
Spinrad never comes out and says he's referencing Heinlein but its pretty clear that was the intent. I think this dude would benefit from reading it but he doesn't sound that self aware.
I know about The Iron Dream and for those who can be reached, it's a powerful thought experiment with many contemporary parallels.