Ethics and Malpractice

Duties of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board

The Editor-in-Chief, in cooperation with the Editorial Board of Hevruta: Journal for Jewish Studies, makes the final decision on which manuscripts will be published. In making this decision, the Editor-in-Chief is guided by the editorial policy and relevant legal regulations, particularly those concerning copyright infringement and plagiarism.

The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to evaluate submitted manuscripts and to decline publication if they do not meet the required substantive and formal criteria. Under normal circumstances, the Editorial Board informs the author about the acceptance of the manuscript within the shortest possible time from the date of submission.

The Editor-in-Chief must not have any conflict of interest regarding the manuscripts under consideration. If such a conflict exists, the Editorial Board will decide on the selection of reviewers and the fate of the manuscript. Editorial members with a conflict of interest must withdraw from the review and decision-making process and are obliged to declare such conflicts in a timely manner.

The Editor-in-Chief must evaluate manuscripts solely based on their content, without discrimination based on race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or political beliefs.

Editors and members of the Editorial Board must not use unpublished materials from submitted manuscripts for their own research without the author’s explicit written consent. All information and ideas contained in submitted manuscripts must be treated as confidential and must not be used for personal gain.

The Editor and Editorial Board must take all reasonable measures to ensure that the identity of reviewers remains anonymous to authors, and that the identity of authors remains anonymous to reviewers throughout the review process.

Duties of Authors

Authors guarantee that their manuscript represents original work, has not been previously published, and is not under consideration elsewhere. Simultaneous submission to multiple journals constitutes a breach of ethical standards and such manuscripts will be excluded from further consideration.

If the manuscript is a result of a research project or has been previously presented at a conference, this must be indicated in a footnote at the beginning of the text. Previously published work cannot be republished in Hevruta unless it is a translation, adaptation, or substantially revised version based on further research, which must be clearly indicated.

Authors must adhere to ethical standards in research and ensure that the manuscript does not contain unfounded or unlawful claims and does not infringe upon the rights of others. The publisher bears no responsibility for any claims for damages.

Content of the Paper

The manuscript must include sufficient detail and references to allow reviewers and readers to verify the claims. Deliberate misrepresentation of facts constitutes a violation of ethical standards.

Authors bear full responsibility for the content and must obtain consent from all individuals or institutions involved in the research prior to publication.

Authors wishing to include previously published materials (illustrations, tables, etc.) must obtain permission from copyright holders. If such permission is not provided, the material will be considered original. If a complaint arises post-publication, the journal will issue a correction or retraction, clearly stating that the error is attributable to the author.

Authorship

Only individuals who have made a significant contribution to the manuscript should be listed as authors. Contributions from others should be acknowledged in notes or acknowledgments.

Citation of Sources

Authors must properly cite all sources. Information obtained through private communication or peer review must not be used without explicit permission.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism, including presenting others’ ideas, words, or creative expressions as one’s own, constitutes a serious violation of academic and publishing ethics and may involve legal consequences.

Plagiarism includes:

  • Direct or near-direct copying or paraphrasing without proper citation
  • Copying images or tables without proper attribution and permission

Manuscripts suspected of plagiarism will be rejected. Published works found to be plagiarized will be retracted.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial or other conflicts of interest that could influence their results or interpretations.

Errors in Published Works

If authors discover significant errors after publication, they must promptly inform the editor or publisher and cooperate in correcting or retracting the work.

By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to comply with these obligations.

Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers must provide professional, objective, and timely evaluations of the manuscript’s scientific value.

They assess:

  • Relevance to the journal’s scope
  • Methodological validity
  • Originality and scientific contribution
  • Academic style and structure

Reviewers must report suspected ethical violations and identify relevant works not cited by the author. They must also notify the editor of similarities with other works or simultaneous submissions.

Reviewers must avoid conflicts of interest and withdraw if necessary. They must also decline review if not competent in the subject area.

Reviews must be objective and supported by arguments. Personal criticism is inappropriate.

Manuscripts are confidential documents and must not be used for personal gain.

Peer Review Process

The journal aims to complete the review process within two months and publish accepted papers within one year.

Eligible manuscripts undergo double-blind review by at least two external reviewers. The purpose is to assist editorial decisions and improve manuscript quality.

Reviewers are selected based on expertise and must not be affiliated with the same institution as the author or recent collaborators. Reviewers are not compensated.

Authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the process. Reviewers work independently. If their recommendations differ, additional reviews may be requested or the Editorial Board may decide.

Editors may request additional data from authors. All such data must remain confidential.

The Editorial Board ensures review quality and may seek additional opinions if concerns arise.

Handling Ethical Misconduct

Any individual or institution may report suspected ethical violations.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board will investigate. All evidence is treated confidentially, and accused parties are given the opportunity to respond.

Minor Violations

Handled directly with the individual (e.g., warning or clarification).

Serious Violations

May result in:

  • Public statements
  • Notification of institutions
  • Retraction of the article
  • Submission bans
  • Notification of relevant authorities

The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Retraction Policy

Articles must be retracted in cases of serious ethical violations such as plagiarism, duplicate submission, false authorship, or data manipulation.

Retracted articles remain accessible but marked as “RETRACTED.”

Open Access

Hevruta: Journal for Jewish Studies is an open-access journal. Articles are freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 license.

Submission, review, and publication are free of charge.

Self-Archiving

Authors may archive the final published version in repositories or personal websites, provided proper citation and DOI/link are included.

Copyright

Authors grant the publisher non-exclusive rights, including:

  • Reproduction and distribution
  • Translation
  • Electronic storage and dissemination

Authors retain rights for non-commercial use, provided proper attribution is given.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in published articles do not reflect those of the editors or Editorial Board. Authors bear full responsibility for their work.