The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies is an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the study of the modern history and contemporary affairs of the Middle East. The Center seeks to impart an understanding of Middle Eastern past and present to academic and general audiences, in Israel, as well as abroad. The Center is part of the School of History and the Lester and Sally Entin Faculty of Humanities at Tel Aviv University.
 

The Center's origins lie in the Reuven Shiloah Institute, first established in 1959 under the auspices of the Israel Oriental Society. In 1965, the Shiloah Institute was incorporated into Tel Aviv University. In 1983, the University established the Moshe Dayan Center, which combined the Shiloah Institute and documentation units dealing with the Middle East. Generous friends of the late Moshe Dayan raised the endowment necessary to establish and sustain the Center.
 

The Moshe Dayan Center is governed by an Israeli Board of Governors, on the advice of an International Board of Overseers. It is administered by an academic director. The Center is funded by the University, an endowment, research grants, and contributions.

The Moshe Dayan Center is the oldest and largest institution of its kind in Israel. Over the years, it has played a renowned role in illuminating the Middle East, through research, publications, conferences, documentary collections, and public service. Its mission has been to bring scholarly objectivity to the analysis of subjects that often stir passions. The Moshe Dayan Center does not take positions or recommend policies. It seeks to inform the academic community, policy makers, journalists, and the general public about the complexities of the Middle East, and so advance peace through understanding.

Research

Research at the Moshe Dayan Center focuses on the Arab world (including North Africa), Turkey, and Iran, with an emphasis on modern history and contemporary affairs. Most members have been trained in history, however, the Center actively seeks to involve scholars from other relevant disciplines in all of its work. Individual members are free to pursue any avenue of research they choose. 

Research initiatives of the Center focus on areas of collective strength. A particular strength of the Center has been in the study of Islam and politics. At a time when few saw the mobilizing potential of Islam, the Center initiated research on Islamic movements and convened several of the earliest conferences on the political role of Islam and Shi`ism.

The Center has identified six areas of research interest crucial to an understanding of the complexities of the Modern Middle East.  The projects are pursued through research teams, in workshops, symposia and international conferences designed to produce increased interaction between the scholars of the Center and those from other departments and disciplines at Tel Aviv University and abroad.