Making Things Complicated

Observations on life in Jerusalem.

By Chaya Houpt

Jerusalem Day with the Solidarity Guard

The policeman near Damascus Gate watched me with a confused expression, as if he wasn’t quite sure what he was looking at.

May 20•Chaya Houpt

Desire Is About the Future

I’m not really here.

Mar 19•Chaya Houpt

Add More Verses

The day before the massacre in Sydney, I saw a post by Guy Branum, a Jewish comedian:

Dec 18, 2025•Chaya Houpt

At the Heart of the Circle

What does it mean to be part of a community?

Dec 4, 2025•Chaya Houpt

Simplifying Things Somewhat

One morning this week, I traveled to the Judean Desert with fellow activists to guard a Bedouin community.

Nov 27, 2025•Chaya Houpt

Olive Harvest Pancakes

One unseasonably warm day last week, I woke up early (despite my general reluctance to do so) and traveled to a Palestinian village in the West Bank to…

Nov 13, 2025•Chaya Houpt

The Camera Follows Us in Slo-Mo

Two years ago, Acharei Hachagim never arrived.

Oct 16, 2025•Chaya Houpt

Houdini and the Vastness

All I want to think about right now is Krakatoa, a volcano that erupted in the Sunda Strait in 1883.

Sep 17, 2025•Chaya Houpt