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Alex Shams

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Alex Shams

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Reporting

Israel Palestine Reporting

After police killings, anger simmers in Negev Bedouin villages

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Ma’an News Agency on Feb. 5, 2015. BEERSHEBA (Ma’an) — The killing of two Bedouin youths in southern Israel by police over the last week has shocked the

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Palestine Reporting

2 years after youth shot by soldiers, friends honor him with mural

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Ma’an News Agency on January 15, 2015. BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — As the second anniversary of the death of a young Palestinian boy from Bethlehem approaches, his friends

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Palestine Reporting

Group calls for Orthodox church reform over alleged Israel land sales

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Ma’an News Agency on Jan. 14, 2015. BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Christmas is a time for holiday cheer in Bethlehem, as thousands from across Palestine and around the world

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Palestine Reporting

In photos: Snow blankets historic Old City of Bethlehem

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ma’an News Agency on January 10, 2015. As the third day of winter Storm Huda came to a close on Friday, snow blanketed the hills of central

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Palestine Reporting

Birzeit students hold solidarity event with Black struggle in US

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ma’an News Agency on December 18, 2014. BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Nearly 100 students at Birzeit University in the central West Bank on Wednesday took part in a

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Palestine Reporting

Bethlehem filled with hope as Christmas season approaches

Posted on December 3, 2014 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Ma’an News Agency on December 3, 2014. BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Bethlehem of today is a far cry from the little village of Jesus’ era, and the historic

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Palestine Reporting

Palestinian students tour US, building solidarity with local movements

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Alex Shams

Originally published on Ma’an News Agency on November 27, 2014. BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — 10 Palestinian students returned to the West Bank this week from a tour of more than 40 colleges

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Palestine Reporting

In Hebron, Palestinian women face down daily settler home invasions

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ma’an News Agency on November 26, 2014. By: Alex Shams and Salam Muharam This is the second part in a series about the lives of Palestinian women

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Palestine Reporting

Israeli harassment curtails access to education for Hebron girls

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ma’an News Agency on November 19, 2014. By: Alex Shams and Salam Muharam This is the first part in a series about the lives of Palestinian women

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Palestine Reporting

Thousands march in Bethlehem to mark Independence Day

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Alex Shams

Originally published by Ma’an News Agency on November 15, 2014. Thousands marched in the streets of Bethlehem on Saturday to mark Palestinian Independence Day and the 10th anniversary of Palestinian

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About me

Alex Shams is an Iranian-American writer and a PhD student of Anthropology at the University of Chicago.

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Recent posts

  • “Why Did So Many People Think This War Was a Good Idea?”
  • CBS Interview: How people in Iran feel about ceasefire with U.S., upcoming peace talks
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About

Born and raised in an Iranian-American family in Los Angeles, Alex Shams has long been fascinated by the stories that places can tell us. Growing up, he learned Persian and Spanish; in college, he learned Arabic and studied abroad at the American University of Cairo before moving to Beirut after graduation. After receiving his master’s in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard, he moved to Bethlehem, Palestine, where he was a journalist at Ma’an News Agency, the largest independent Palestinian news organization. He received his PhD. from the University of Chicago in Sociocultural Anthropology. His dissertation, entitled “Constructing Islamic Modernity: Power, Religion, and Masculinity in Post-Revolutionary Iran,” was based on three years of ethnographic research in Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan as well as archival research in the British Library and Ba’ath Party Archives.

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