The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies 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 Moshe Dayan Center’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 center has been active in developing new interpretive frameworks for understanding the region’s complex dynamics. History 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 later became 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; For a variety of reasons, the Shiloah Institute was not able to thrive independently; one reason was that it suffered from a lack of funding. In 1964, a young researcher by the name of Shimon Shamir wrote to the newly formed Tel Aviv University, and argued that it should absorb the institute, because it "possessed 'a large archive ... and was guaranteed the support and cooperation of the state in the professional sphere, as well as in funding, and in collecting materials to be used in research.'" As part of Tel Aviv University, it became what Prof. Gil Eyal of Columbia University referred to as a