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Since its inception in 1997, Jama`a, a Hebrew-language journal dedicated to promoting a more pluralistic understanding of Middle Eastern history and society, has been one of the most innovative publications in the Israeli academic community. What makes the journal unique is more than its in-depth coverage of a variety of fields and methodologies in Middle East Studies. It is the only journal which is entirely edited and partly written by students. The editorial board is composed of students of the Department of Middle East Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Thanks to the generosity of the Chaim Herzog Center and the Department of Middle East Studies, the student staff at Jama`a receives scholarships toward their studies as well as benefit from invaluable editorial and scholarly experience.
Jama`a has acquainted Israeli students and researchers with many interdisciplinary, critical and innovative works, both by well-established scholars and by students who ventured to present their work for the first time. Two volumes are issued a year; the most recent (twelfth) volume appeared in October 2004. Each volume includes five sections: academic articles, a Hebrew translation of a seminal article originally published in a foreign language, "Food for Thought" - one or two short essays designed to provoke critical thinking about topics germane to Middle East Studies, reviews of books and films, and a survey of books recently published in Arabic and other Middle Eastern languages. English and Arabic abstracts are offered at the end of each volume.
Articles appearing in Jama`a are studied in various courses in Israeli universities, and cited in scholarly journals and books. Jama`a is never satisfied with its successes, however. New ideas constantly crop up at staff meetings. Most recently, the editorial board has decided to add two new sections; one, a survey of new scholarly editions of Arabic manuscript texts; and, two, a full-text Arabic translation of one article in each volume. The staff is also contemplating two projects in the near future: an electronic edition of the journal and a joint bi-lingual issue with the collaboration of a Palestinian university.
For further information, tables of content of all issues and a selection of full-text articles please consult the Jama`a website http://w3.bgu.ac.il/mideast/jamaa.
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