Religious Alternative Dispute Resolution in Israel and Other Nations With State-Sponsored Religious Courts: Crafting a More Efficient and Better Relationship Between Rabbinical Courts and Arbitration Law in Israel

This paper proposes the expansion of both private and public options regarding religious arbitration in Israel, broadening both the choice of law and the choice of forum available to Israeli citizens in cases of either commercial law or issues of status (such as divorce, marriage, and conversion). The current law in Israel prohibits citizens from adjudicating their monetary disputes in state religious courts and treats private religious courts as no different from any other arbitration tribunal, precluding these private religious courts from marriage, divorce and conversion matters. We propose that both of these restrictions be lifted, while the role of Jewish Law in the state is not changed.