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1Jewish boys are generally {{Nice Guy}}s in Hollywood fiction, or at least can be relied on being so when they're the centre piece or critical element of a given work of fiction. So are AmbiguouslyJewish ones. They also tend to be [[SelfDeprecation self-deprecating]], studious, and brainy. Although he may still [[JewsLoveToArgue love to argue]], even when he's arguing, you can still tell he's nice. It's reasonably likely he's a [[AllJewsAreCheapskates cheapskate]], but he's probably not actually [[GreedyJew greedy]]. They're usually portrayed as smart, reliable, and gentle, with a boyish charm because these are qualities favored in Jewish culture as an ideal husband. Often overlaps with JewishAndNerdy, and when BewareTheNiceOnes, a Nice Jewish Boy can also be a BadassIsraeli.
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3Even though nice Jewish boys are quite likely to create a GentileJewChaser, a character referred to as "a nice Jewish boy" tends to be unmarried -- he's often referred to as "a nice Jewish boy" by his domineering JewishMother, who wants him to get married and [[IWantGrandkids give her grandchildren]] and is advertising his niceness. {{Jewish Mother}}s may also ask their daughters to find one of these, or indeed their sons to find "a nice Jewish girl."
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5Website/TheOtherWiki has an article about the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nice_Jewish_boy "Nice Jewish boy"]] and the roots and influence of the trope.
6----
7!!Examples:
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9[[foldercontrol]]
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11[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
12* Zig-zagged by Benny from ''Manga/BlackLagoon''. He is definitely friendlier than Revy (but so are most rabid wolverines), and prefers electronics to guns, but like his co-workers, he's utterly cynical to the point of apathy, and has no compunctions about participating in murder, grave robbing, human trafficking, and the other [[SarcasmMode nice]] things the Black Lagoon company does for money.
13[[/folder]]
14
15[[folder:Comic Books]]
16* Dan Dreiberg, from ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', is AmbiguouslyJewish, but according to WordOfGod is actually a lapsed Calvinist. Nonetheless, the fact he behaves a lot like a nice Jewish boy is almost certainly partially responsible for the widespread {{fanon}} that he's a Jew.
17* Ted Kord, the second ComicBook/BlueBeetle, employs a distinctly Yiddish turn of phrase for the whole time he's being written by Len Wein and displays elements of this trope.
18* Billy Kaplan[=/=]"Wiccan" in ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'', although he wasn't confirmed to be Jewish for some time.
19* Peter Parker aka ComicBook/SpiderMan was sometimes thought to be this due to his very pronounced feelings of guilt and domination by his surrogate mother Aunt May, especially as his creator Creator/StanLee was Jewish. However, particular details about his family added since the late 1980s have established his background as at least partly Irish and Catholic.
20* In ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'' and ''ComicBook/RedRobin'' Sebastian Ives is a nice, if snarky, Jewish kid who befriends Tim. He starts out more likely to snap at others and as a bit of a coward but slowly mellows out through his high school years and was always kind at heart and in his interactions with his friends.
21[[/folder]]
22
23[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
24* Creator/AdamSandler tends to play the nice Jewish boy in about half of his movies, and {{Jerkass}} or JerkWithAHeartOfGold in the other half. This is most apparent in ''WesternAnimation/EightCrazyNights'', wherein he ''{{Used|ToBeASweetKid}}'' [[UsedToBeASweetKid to Be a Nice Jewish Boy]] before becoming a {{Jerkass}}.
25[[/folder]]
26
27[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
28* The Rebbe's son in ''A Stranger Among Us''.
29* Vinz from ''Film/LaHaine'' averts this trope: he's the most violent of the trio, even though he is a NiceGuy [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold deep down]].
30* Greg Focker in ''Film/MeetTheParents''.
31* Jim Levenstein, the main character in ''Film/AmericanPie''. He's a perv, but then AllMenArePerverts, and other than that he's one of the best-behaved characters.
32* David Levinson of ''Film/IndependenceDay'', played by Creator/JeffGoldblum, crosses this trope with JewishAndNerdy especially as he's positioned as the "brains" of the three central characters all the others orbit around in various ways (the other two being the President of the United States and the cocky Steven Hiller, both of whom also have pilot experience). He's an AlmightyJanitor with an [=MIT=] education but happy in his cable company job in New York City, sharp enough to realize that the arrival of the aliens is bad news when he figures out the purpose of the signal the ships are sending out, and with his crotchety-but-lovable dad in tow heads to Washington D.C. to warn the President of the United States of the threat. (It helps that the ex-wife he's still devoted to works as the White House Communications Director.) Later, he figures out how to bring down the shields that protect the aliens' ships, finally giving humanity a chance to stop them.
33* Paulie Bleeker in ''Film/{{Juno}}''. True, he's only an ''{{informed|Judaism}}'' Jew, but still fits.
34* Lindermann in ''Film/FreddyVsJason'', who's an all-around nice guy and dorky.
35* David Kessler in ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon''; true, he finds it difficult to kill himself when the animated corpse of his best friend tells him to, but you can't really blame him.
36* ''Film/{{Justice|League 2017}} [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague League]]'': Barry Allen eagerly joins the Justice League for the [[IJustWantToHaveFriends chance to make friends]], lamely [[ButHeSoundsHandsome tries to pretend]] that a compromising photo of him is a completely different "attractive Jewish boy", and might or might not practice gorilla sign language and competitive ice dancing. Also gets points for helping to save the planet.
37[[/folder]]
38
39[[folder:Literature]]
40* Rabin in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse novel]] ''Vulcan's Forge''.
41* Reuven Malter in ''Literature/TheChosen''. Danny was less so, due to his [[TinMan introspective nature]] and his father believed he had temptations toward becoming an InsufferableGenius.
42* Sent up in ''Literature/PortnoysComplaint'', where Alex Portnoy is torn between his conflicting desires; he wants to live a hedonistic life, but he also wants to become the nice Jewish boy his parents expect him to be. Creator/PhilipRoth seemed generally intent on playing around with this trope forwards, backwards, and sideways in his other works as well.
43* Simon Lewis from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments''.
44* Adolphe Blanc from ''Literature/TheWellOfLoneliness''.
45* Nate from ''Literature/LoveAffairsOfNathanielP.'' is a subversion. He ''acts'' like this trope, but only because [[SlaveToPR he hates it when people think badly of him.]] On the inside, he's a [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] JerkAss to the core.
46* Schmendrick from ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn''. More AmbiguouslyJewish than anything, but it fits overall well (that and Peter S. Beagle is Jewish himself, so he may have added a little bit of himself onto his character).
47* Heinz Lewinsky of ''Literature/TheAnderssons''. He's a Jewish refugee from UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and Louise's first boyfriend, who opens her eyes to how Jews are treated (remember, this is right before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII started). It is later revealed that Louise got married to him. And like so many other Nice Jewish Boys, he became a doctor.
48* Stanley Uris in ''Literature/{{It}}''. He recently joined a group of misfits called "The Lucky Seven" AKA "The Losers Club".
49* Nathan Chaim Kaplan of ''Literature/CagingSkies'', a kind and intelligent, gentle boy who is unfortunately gassed to death during UsefulNotes/WW2. He is TheLostLenore to Elsa Korr, the novel's female lead.
50[[/folder]]
51
52[[folder:Live Action TV]]
53* ''Series/TheSteveHarveyShow''. Recurring character Arthur Rabinowitz is almost always referred to by Steve as "That little polite Jewish boy who helps me with my taxes."
54* ''Series/{{House}}'': Dr. James Wilson. Sensitive, caring, has an excellent bedside manner, and retains his composure without being the least bit cold when dealing with dying cancer patients. Even when he does bad things (like rat his best friend out to the police), it's almost always motivated by good intentions (getting said best friend off drugs). His biggest character flaw may be that he's ''too'' selfless. And his mother can talk about, "My son, the doctor..."
55* Charlie Eppes, from ''Series/{{Numb3rs}}'', though he is non-observant.
56* Largely wanted by Nanny Fine in the early seasons of ''Series/TheNanny''. She's Jewish and would like to get married to a good man.
57* Discussed and subverted on ''Series/{{Glee}}'', as Puck's (Jewish) mother asks him why he can't find himself "a nice Jewish girl." This is part of the reason he goes out with Rachel. Neither Rachel nor Puck exactly fit the "reliable and gentle" mold, though. There is also Jacob Ben Israel, whose SchoolNewspaperNewsHound persona is anything but nice.
58* Howard on ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' when he's not a complete pervert (which isn't that often at first, but he does [[CharacterDevelopment grow up]]. Mostly).
59* ''Series/MySoCalledLife'': Brian Krakow is the brainy, sensitive, Jewish boy next door to Angela. He pines for her while she pines for the troubled, bad-boy gentile Jordan Catalano.
60* David "Gordo" Gordon on ''Series/LizzieMcGuire''.
61* Adam Goldberg of ''Series/TheGoldbergs'' is part of a Jewish family and is one of the nicest characters in the show.
62* Chase Matthews on ''Series/{{Zoey 101}}''.
63* Robbie Shapiro on ''Series/{{Victorious}}''. When he's not insulting people through his ventriloquist dummy.
64* Hilariously subverted on the UK version of ''Series/TheApprentice'', when Sir Alan Sugar berated one of the contestants for not knowing the difference between Kosher meat and Halal meat after claiming he was a 'good little Jewish boy' on his application.
65* Josh from ''Series/BeingHumanUS''.
66* ''Series/BeingHumanUK'': George is Jewish. Maybe a little less nice, though.
67* It isn't often mentioned in ''Series/TheWonderYears'', but Kevin's best friend Paul Pfeiffer is Jewish: one episode featured his bar mitzvah. A geeky NiceGuy, he fits the trope.
68* Matt Parkman, from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', is Jewish according to WordOfGod.
69* On ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', Jerry's mother can't be persuaded that her son isn't a nice Jewish boy, although he very obviously is not.
70* Sheldon in ''Series/LessThanKind''.
71* Sol Star on ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'' fits the mold of nice Jewish boy to a tee--which isn't really an asset, considering he lives in a [[TheWildWest Wild West]] town of murderers, thieves, gamblers, and drunks.
72* Zachary Ezekiel Rosenblatt Beekerman, also known as Zeke, from ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'' is probably the nicest character on the show. He's so nice, he sometimes blames himself for other people's problems.
73* Jeremy on ''Series/SportsNight''. Dan is less nice, but he's working on it.
74* Thoroughly {{averted|Trope}} in ''Series/TheLeague''. Rodney Ruxin is a lapsed Jew and a ''monumental'' asshole. And damn proud of it.
75* Ross Geller of ''Series/{{Friends}}'' is a mild example bordering on InformedJudaism.
76* Series/TheOC has Seth Cohen, a snarkier version of one but one nevertheless.
77* Nico from ''Series/RebeldeWay'' fits this to a tee, despite his commitment issues.
78* ''Series/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel'': Midge's husband Joel is a complicated example. He seems to be a good husband, father, and breadwinner with a high-paying job at his uncle's company and a hobby in stand-up comedy. Flashbacks reveal that he swept Midge off her feet while she was dating a lantern-jawed, blond gentile. However, by the end of the first episode, he's revealed to have many character flaws that make him much less an example than he first seemed.
79* ''Series/{{Punisher}}'': Brain, a Jew, is a friendly, brilliant and loving husband and father. At least, he was before he had to go into hiding.
80* ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'' has Juliana's boyfriend Frank, who is secretly Jewish under an Axis-occupied America and he is definitely sweet. [[spoiler:Then BreakTheCutie happens and he becomes more ruthless and merciless.]]
81* Rory Regan of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', once he gets past his initial RoaringRampageOfRevenge, is generally a pretty nice guy as well as being a faithful Jew.
82* Between all the hyper-ambitious, backstabbing doctors of the ''Series/{{Charite}}'' hospital, Jewish Doctor Paul Ehrlich is by far the most decent, compassionate and upright, as well as a [[HappilyMarried loving husband]] and a [[GoodParents doting father]] to his two daughters.
83* Cyrus Goodman from ''Series/AndiMack'' is notoriously caring, loyal, helpful, thoughtful, and kind. He is proudly and openly Jewish.
84* ''Series/WillAndGrace'': In season five Grace spontaneously marries her boyfriend Leo. At the reception her mother expresses concern as they barely know him.
85-->'''[[JewishMother Bobbi:]]''' This all happened so fast. I don't even know from Leo. I'm not sure I approve.\
86'''Grace:''' He's a Jewish doctor.\
87'''Bobbi:''' Ooh, I love him!
88[[/folder]]
89
90[[folder:Music]]
91* Collaborator Creator/MichaelMoorcock described American heavy rock band the Music/BlueOysterCult as "a bunch of nice, well brought up, Jewish boys from "[[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState upstate New York]]". (Only three of the original BOC lineup were Jewish, though).
92* Other nice Jewish boys who went into musical careers include a certain Robert Zimmermann, better known as Music/BobDylan.
93* Jewish acapella group the Maccabeats do Jewish-themed parodies of pop songs, and often mention the importance of family in their songs. [[JewishAndNerdy They are/were also all students at Yeshiva University.]]
94* Geddy Lee[[note]]born Gary Lee Weinrib; his parents were both Holocaust survivors from Poland[[/note]] of Music/{{Rush|Band}} described himself at their UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame induction as "a nice Jewish boy from UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}."
95* When Music/{{Kiss}} appeared on ''The Mike Douglas Show'' in 1974, Gene Simmons went out to be interviewed by Mike. During their chat, Simmons claimed to be "evil incarnate", prompting comedienne Totie Fields to comment that he was "probably some nice Jewish boy from Long Island". Simmons is indeed Jewish, born in Israel.
96** Bandmate and HeterosexualLifePartner Paul Stanley is Jewish as well.
97* Music/VanHalen frontman David Lee Roth is Jewish and despite his history veers towards this.
98* The late Hillel Slovak of Music/RedHotChiliPeppers has been characterised as this, he was famously Jewish (having spent his first few years in Israel), very chilled out in interviews, and a business-minded peacemaker at a time Anthony and Flea were prone to drugged-out laddish behaviour. Before and after his death, they have never had a single bad thing to say about him, and he's regarded as TooCoolToLive by many fans.
99* Music/TheFoxyBard has several costumed characters that he performs depending on which musical style he's doing. Dovid Mordachai, a klezmer musician, is described as "the only roommate [persona] that will not bring shame to his mother" and "a good Jewish boy."[[note]]He has another Jewish persona, Rabbi Shmuel Pallache, but he's a pirate.[[/note]]
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101
102[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]
103* In Literature/TheBible:
104** UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} makes this trope OlderThanFeudalism. One of the possible titles for JesusWasWayCool was Jesus Was A Nice Jewish Boy, and it's mentioned several times throughout the article. This is sometimes taken to extremes: there's a hymn titled "Gentle Jesus Meek And Mild"... [[SubvertedTrope which is an ironic hymn]]. Jesus had differing ideas about the definition of "meekness" than the modern connotation and, even in the Bible, has his moments of KungFuJesus. He was not a [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia tame carpenter]].
105** A joke says "he was thirty-three, single, no obvious girlfriend and living at home with his mom. He's Jewish."
106** The Old Testament is also full of this trope. Isaac and Jacob are good examples.
107* Literature/{{The Talmud}} has guidelines for... kosher relations, between husband and wife. One particular rule is that Jewish husbands are ''required'' to satisfy their wives before themselves.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Theatre]]
111* While almost everyone in ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'' is Jewish, [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Motel the tailor]] is the closest to this trope.
112* Mark Cohen in ''Theatre/{{RENT}}''.
113* In ''Abie's Irish Rose'', Abie is actually called this by his father, who always wanted him to marry a nice little Jewish girl, which Rose [[ShiksaGoddess really isn't]].
114* Abraham in ''Theatre/AltarBoyz''
115[[/folder]]
116
117[[folder:Webcomics]]
118* Pasha Moskowitz on ''Webcomic/{{Academia}}''.
119* Ferris from ''Webcomic/{{Fishbones}}''.
120* Joseph from ''Webcomic/JosephAndYusra''.
121[[/folder]]
122
123[[folder:Western Animation]]
124* Tommy Pickles from ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}''. It's even invoked in ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp''.
125* WesternAnimation/KimPossible's partner Ron Stoppable.
126* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Kyle Broflovski is probably the most recognizable modern version of the stereotype. Even though he can be a bit HotBlooded occasionally, mostly due to [[{{Jerkass}} Cartman's]] behavior, he can still be pretty nice, especially in later seasons. Unless, of course, something causes his [[{{Joisey}} Inner Jersey]] to manifest. Like [[AllTrollsAreDifferent Sno]][[Series/JerseyShore oki]].
127* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' parodies this in a ''Treehouse of Horror'' episode, where a golem, when told to "speak" by Lisa reveals himself as this, albeit rather neurotic.
128* T.J. Detweiler from ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', though he's more AmbiguouslyJewish from the events of the ChristmasEpisode.
129* Dipper in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' is a bit AmbiguouslyJewish, and generally fits the trope like a glove, taking other people's ethical choices/behaviors and emotions seriously, having a LivingEmotionalCrutch in his sister that he won't put aside for anything, making it a point to never [[TakingAdvantageOfGenerosity take advantage of anyone's generosity]] despite his other vices and, above all else, just being a rather sweet kid. Though considering who one of his great uncles is, there's always a ''chance'' of him being on the cheap side...
130* Arnold Perlstein on ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus''.
131* The title character of WesternAnimation/JacobTwoTwo.
132* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' has Isabella, who is confirmed Jewish and is one of the nicest characters on the show.
133[[/folder]]
134
135[[folder:Other]]
136* [[http://nicejewishguys.net/ This calendar of Nice Jewish Guys.]]
137* In the {{documentary}} ''A History of Britain'' Simon Schama describes himself as a nice Jewish boy when describing England's Christian Reformation.
138* In [[http://www.cracked.com/video_18405_sex-as-understood-by-adolescent-boys.html this NSFW comedy video]], 12-year-old Jeffrey seems like such a nice Jewish boy. But -- ''Oy veh!'' -- what an imagination he has about his seemingly PlainJane mitzvah instructor (whom he sees as a HotTeacher).
139[[/folder]]

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