Journal Policies

 

Aims and scope
Jama‘a is an open-access, peer-reviewd journal of Middle Eastern studies. Since 1998, it has been published annually by the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and the Chaim Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel). Jama‘a is distinctive as a scholarly journal jointly edited by graduate students and faculty researchers.

The journal presents a wide range of research fields and issues at the forefront of Middle Eastern studies. This region is understood broadly to include North and Sub-Saharan Africa; the Arab, Turkish, and Persian worlds; the Mediterranean and the Balkans; Central, South, and Southeast Asia; as well as other areas to which peoples and communities from these regions have migrated and settled. We are particularly interested in articles on communities that maintain historical, commercial, political, cultural, or religious ties with the Middle East, as well as on transnational and transregional connections with other parts of the world.

Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to Jama’a undergo double-blind peer review. Authors’ identities are concealed from the reviewers, and reviewers’ identities are not disclosed to authors.

All manuscripts submitted to Jama‘a undergo both internal editorial review and external peer review by experts from diverse fields within Middle Eastern studies

Review criteria include originality, clarity, methodological rigor, contribution to the field, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

The editorial board makes the final decision based on the reviewers’ reports. Authors may be asked to revise and resubmit their manuscripts.

Publication Frequency

 The journal is published once a year, typically in the fall. Special issues may be published at the discretion of the editorial board.

 Open Access Policy
Jama’a provides immediate open access to all content, based on the principle that unrestricted access to research fosters global knowledge exchange.

All articles are freely available to read, download, copy, distribute, and share without financial, legal or technical barriers.

Licensing and Copyright

All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of first publication. Users may reuse the content with proper attribution.

Authors Fees
The journal does not charge any submission, processing, or publication fees (no APC’s).

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Jama’a is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authors must ensure that their work is original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that all sources and materials (including images) are properly cited and used with permission. All authors must approve the submission and disclose any conflicts of interest.

Editors evaluate submissions based on academic merit and are responsible for ensuring a fair, unbiased, and confidential peer review process.

Reviewers are expected to provide objective and constructive evaluations, maintain confidentiality, and disclose any conflicts of interest.

The journal does not tolerate plagiarism or unethical research practices. In cases of suspected misconduct, appropriate action will be taken in accordance with COPE guidelines, including rejection, correction, or retraction of published articles.

Generative AI Policy
Generative AI tools may be used only as supportive instruments and must be disclosed. AI systems cannot be listed as authors, and responsibility for the content remains with the human authors.

Manuscripts relying substantially on AI-generated text without meaningful human oversight will not be accepted. Reviewers and editors may not upload unpublished manuscripts to AI systems.