Middle East Centre for Arab Studies

[1] The Middle East Centre for Arab Studies was established by the British Army during World War II in Jerusalem.

The college gained notoriety as a "spy school" after it was publicly denounced as such by Kamal Jumblatt speaking in the Lebanese Parliament.

However, after the handover to Arabist civilians the director of the institution protested such usage, asking for the cancellation of spying orders from Middle East Land Forces involving six students in 1951.

[4] The Civil War made the situation increasingly difficult, and in 1976, MECAS was temporarily evacuated before closing altogether in 1978.

The property was sold in 1995 and the buildings repurposed for the Shemlan Social Institution, which accommodates "special needs beneficiaries with mental and learning disabilities".