Public and Private International Law from the Perspective of Jewish Law

This article focuses on public and private international law from the perspective of Jewish law. When one speaks about international law from the perspective of the Jewish tradition, it is not enough to consider the community now forming and the international treaties that are now developing; it is necessary instead to ponder the procedural and substantive safeguards that need to be put in place to protect the rights of people to be different and unique. International law has the potential to eliminate regional diversity and culture. It could compel adherence to communal norms that have never fit particular regions, religions, or geographical units. This article explores two basic Jewish law questions that reflect on the technical issues related to the applicability of international law proposals within Halakhah. The first question asks how Jewish law views public international law and the second question asks how Jewish law generally incorporates domestic (municipal) law into Jewish law, and if this classical paradigm of integration assists in formulating a Jewish law view of world law.