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Israel Journal of Veterinary Medicine  Vol. 70 (3)  September 2015 www.ijvm.org.il 2
Editorial
P
ersistent and challenging endeavors have brought the journal a signifcant achievement. Te citation indices for scientifc
journals has been published for 2014 and I am happy to announce that the “immediate citation index” for the Israel Journal
of Veterinary Medicine has doubled compared to the 2013 index and reached the mark of 0.350 a substantial increase.
True that we are not yet among the outstanding journals however we rank higher than other national recognized journals. I present
here the impact factor trend graph since 2010, since I took over the editorship, illustrating this achievement.
Tis is the frst time in the history of the journal that we have reached this level. I want to thank all contributing authors for
their important role in achieving this landmark and in particular Prof. Itamar Aroch for his continued support and infuence on
veterinarians to continue to write and publish in the IJVM. Also thanks to Dr. Gad Simon for his substantial contribution and
encouragement and in particular assistance and support with the Hebrew section of the journal. Te eforts of the publisher Eli
Oren have indeed played an important role which I greatly appreciate.
Tankfully we have received a fnancial contribution from the “American Veterinarians for Israel”. Tis has now become an
annual practice and I thank this organization sincerely. It may not be known to all that the production and printing of the IJVM is
substantial and is paid mainly through membership fees. Taking into account that the journal has no fees for printing articles from
authors, even those with colour illustrations, the contribution of the “American Veterinarians for Israel” is most welcome. A special
thanks to the President, Dr. Bender for his consideration of our needs. Te journal remains a high priority of the Israel Veterinary
Medical Association and gives an opportunity to Israeli veterinarians to prove their high standard of veterinary research and practice.
I continue to advance the journal in every way possible. I will now reapply to the Pubmed for acceptance. I feel confdent that we
have reached the level of publication and scientifc accomplishment which will allow our acceptance to this exclusive organization.
Te present journal presents an assortment of articles which will be of interest to a wide-ranging readership. In particular
I want to encourage our readers to study the article written by Dr. Pozzi et al. explaining the principles of Kosher and Halal
slaughter in relation to the recommendations of the “World Organization of Animal Health” (OIE). Te controversy regarding
ritual slaughter has been ongoing for centuries and has reappeared in Europe over the last years. In their article Pozzi et al. give
scientifc justifcation for the practices carried out both in Halacha and Saria based on welfare considerations, taking care not to
cause the animal excessive pain when slaughtering animals for meat produciton. As recently as 2014, Denmark has banned kosher
and halal slaughter. Interestingly the practice of killing a young male girafe from the Copenhagen Zoo, skinning and feeding it in
front of kids was considered justifable as the girafe was regarded as surplus. Running the bulls and bull fghting in Spain do not
seem to be within the accepted EU animal welfare regulations and still the practice continues sometimes with disastrous results
to the animals and humans participating in such inhumane practices. I would be glad to hear from our readers what they think?
Wishing all our readers a pleasant summer holidays. Shana Tova, wishing you all health, happiness and a “sweet” and successful
New Year.
Best regards
Trevor ( Tuvi a) Waner
Editor-in-Chief
Israel Journal of Veterinary Medicine