Massacre Of The Innocents

2023 years ago, in Bethlehem's dust-laden streets, a chilling massacre known as "The Massacre of the Innocents" unfolded, forever seared into humanity's conscience.

The gut-wrenching wails of native mothers and the deathly stillness of native infants were brutal testaments to man's capacity for cruelty.

Those mothers looked much like the Palestinian women we see today, their tormented eyes searching for hope; the innocent children, eerily similar to Palestinian children of the present.

However, history and its portrayals can sometimes distort reality. The profound pain of that Middle Eastern tragedy was indeed captured by native and Coptic artists, but the most enduring artworks are through the Eurocentric strokes of European masters, from Rubens to Tintoretto.

While their canvases drip with raw emotion, one cannot help but wonder: Were these artists, whether intentionally or not, agents of whitewashing?

By painting such agonies with a European brush, did they inadvertently strip the narrative of its Middle Eastern essence, thereby further dehumanizing its native people?

Were such depictions rooted in a deep-seated sense of entitlement, giving rise to the perilous belief of one race's dominion over another?

Could these masterpieces have laid the groundwork for an entire people's subjugation, normalizing an occupation that continues to throttle them?

Would the narrative be different today if these portrayals had been truer to their origins?

As today’s genocide rages on, mirroring a new 'Massacre of the Innocents', we're forced to confront our perceptions and biases. Is this present-day horror, the relentless onslaught on Palestinians, a blatant display of white supremacy?

Is it a reflection of a deeply-entrenched racist belief that an evil power can, without remorse or consequence, obliterate a 'native' one? The children of light versus the children of darkness?

The desperate cries, both now and then, echo with an anguish that transcends time.

Yet, a distressing question remains: Why, in today's world, is the life of a Palestinian seemingly valued less than that of a Westerner or white individual?

How can this tragedy unfold while the world watches in silent complicity?

While the paintings are profoundly unsettling, they pale in comparison to the harrowing videos and images emerging from Gaza. We don't have to wait centuries for artists to depict the horrors; we're witnessing these massacres of thousands upon thousands of innocents in real-time. And across the globe, we're collectively crying out for a ceasefire, yet governments, particularly the UK and US, seem to ignore our pleas and continue their support for genocide.

Whose World is this?