Dayan Center

The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies (MDC)

Motto	A non-partisan interdisciplinary research center devoted to the study of the contemporary Middle East and Africa.
Predecessor	Reuven Shiloah Institute
Formation	1966 (as the Reuven Shiloah Institute); 1983 (as the MDC)
Headquarters	Tel Aviv, Israel
Executive Director	Prof. Uzi Rabi
Parent organization	Tel Aviv University
Website	dayan.org

The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies (MDC) is an Israeli think tank based in Tel Aviv, Israel, focused on the contemporary study and analysis of the Middle East and Africa. Its stated primary mission is to serve as a resource for decision makers and the public at large, both in Israel and internationally, though it differentiates itself from other similar organizations by refraining from recommending specific policies outright.

The MDC’s team of over thirty researchers comes from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, and collectively possesses a command of English, Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, and Persian. In the wake of the 2011 ‘Arab Spring,’ and the effective collapse of many Middle Eastern states, the MDC has been active in developing new interpretive frameworks for understanding the region’s complex dynamics.

The idea for the Center was originally proposed by Reuven Shiloah, who was the first Director of the Mossad, who wished to create in Israel an organization along the lines of the Chatham House in Great Britain. Following Shiloah's death, Teddy Kollek, who was then Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office (and who would later become famous as the Mayor of Jerusalem), suggested that the new institution bear Shiloah's name. In the early days, the Institute operated in close cooperation with the Defense Ministry, the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and the Israel Oriental Society. It was staffed by a combination of career researchers, often from the defense establishment but with no academic credentials, and doctoral candidates affiliated with the Hebrew University. Initially, it engaged in much classified research. During this time, it developed a "reputation for thoroughness and quasi-academic quality." David Ben-Gurion reportedly turned to the Shiloah Institute in the late 1950s to research and gather material about the Palestinian exodus of 1948;