Do Orthodox Jews have non-Jewish friends?

Yes, generally speaking, Orthodox Jews have non-Jewish friends. Who your friends are depends on your social circles. An Orthodox Jew who goes to an all Jewish parochial school or seminary will likely only have Jewish friends. read more

Yes, generally speaking, Orthodox Jews have non-Jewish friends. Who your friends are depends on your social circles. An Orthodox Jew who goes to an all Jewish parochial school or seminary will likely only have Jewish friends. But, college, university, vocational school, and the workplace provide settings to meet people who are not Jewish. read more

This got me thinking about the fact that throughout my entire life I have had maybe 3 good non-Jewish friends. In fact, only in the past 3 years have I even had non-frum Jewish friends (not including my friends who have chosen a non-frum lifestyle) Most of the folks I know who grew up orthodox don’t have any good non-Jewish friends. read more

I left the Orthodox world, and I, too, have more Jewish friends than Gentiles. But I do indeed have some close Gentile friends. Boy, do you get an eye-opener when you have even one close Christian friend. I now know that there are NO differences whatsoever between Jews and Gentiles that are genuinely fundamental. read more

In the last few years, I’ve come to realize how difficult it is to have a real, uninhibited, unpretentious friendship if you have language differences, no common cultural reference points, no common entertainment. Yes, a Hasidic man or woman might befriend a non-Jew, maybe through work, maybe through life. Maybe they will call each other friends. read more