Negara Zionis bukan Negara Yahudi :: Telaah atas pandangan Abdel Wahab El-Messiri

RIDO, M. Nursaid Ali, Prof.Dr. Irwan Abdullah

2006 | Tesis | S2 Ilmu Perbandingan Agama

Konflik di Timur Tengah selalu menarik disimak. Sebelum tahun 1990-an, Israel, sebagai pihak yang lebih kuat, memilih jalur militeristik untuk “menyelesaikan” konflik dengan Arab. Setelah periode itu, penaklukan terhadap Arab, terutama Palestina, berupa embargo ekonomi dan politik, penutupan jalan-jalan utama, sabotase bantuan makanan dan obat-obatan. Mengapa konflik itu terus berlangsung? Abdel Wahab El-Messiri, seorang intelektual Mesir, berusaha menjawab pertanyaan itu melalui paradigma “kelompok fungsional Yahudi” dan “negara Zionis fungsional”. Paradigma ini melihat fenomena Yahudi dan Zionisme melalui perspektif filosofis-epistemologis, bukan perspektif politik empiris atau agama. Bagi El-Messiri, Israel adalah negara Zionis fungsional, sebuah reproduksi dari kelompok fungsional Yahudi di Eropa sejak abad 16 hingga awal abad 20. Negara Zionis fungsional ditanam di Palestina tanpa akar budaya dan sejarah oleh imperalisme Barat; ia ditanam berdasarkan mitos dan kecanggihan tekhnologi. Negara Zionis fungsional hanya memainkan peran tertentu. Saat ini tugasnya adalah berperang, namun tugas tersebut dapat dirubah sesuai dengan perkembangan situasi di kawasan konflik. Jika negara itu sudah tidak bisa menjalankan fungsinya, maka eksistensinya akan berakhir; penduduknya akan keluar dari Israel atau berasimilasi secara sempurna dengan masyarakat sekitar. Hal itu pernah terjadi di Afrika Selatan (salah satu kantong kolonialisme Barat), yaitu ketika sistem Apartheid runtuh. Pandangan El-Messiri mendapat resistensi keras, baik dari kalangan Zionis maupun ulama tradisional Mesir. Orang Zionis meyakini Israel sebagai negara bagi seluruh orang Yahudi di dunia yang terikat secara organik dan religius dengan tanah Palestina. Kembali ke Zion merupakan perintah Tuhan, sehingga siapapun menentang Israel adalah antisemitis (bagi orang non-Yahudi), atau kafir (bagi orang Yahudi). Keberhasilan Zionisme mengalahkan Arab karena adanya campur tangan Tuhan, bukan campur tangan imperalisme Barat, seperti diasumsikan El-Messiri. Resistensi juga muncul dari kalangan ulama yang meyakini Zionisme sebagai manifestasi watak jahat orang-orang Yahudi secara turun menurun. Al-Qur’an telah memberitakan kejahatan orang Yahudi yang ingin merusak Islam dan umatnya. Ada perbedaan perspektif yang mendasar antara Zionisme dan Arab. Di satu sisi Zionisme mengklaim punya hak mutlak atas palestina, dan di sisi lain bangsa Arab merasa memiliki ikatan religius yang kuat dengan Palestina. Zionisme menolak hak, sejarah dan budaya Arab, sehingga perlawanan Arab terhadap arogansi Zionisme itu terus berlanjut. Memang Zionisme bisa memenuhi ambisi-ambisi religiusitas umat Yahudi, sekaligus mengentaskan problematika sosial-politik orang-orang Yahudi di Eropa, namun agenda menduduki tanah padat penduduk tidak mungkin melalui cara damai. Kekerasan dengan senjata adalah cara paling efektif meredam perlawanan penduduk asli, sebuah tindakan yang menurut El-Messiri biasa dilakukan kolonialisme di kantong-kantong imperalisme Barat. Aneka propaganda palsu Zionisme telah menyeret umat Islam, termasuk Indonesia, ke dalam persepsi bahwa konflik itu adalah konflik agama.

Conflict in the Middle East is always interested to be discussed. Before 1990th Israel, the more powerful country than its enemies, used a militaristic way to end the conflict. In addition, after that period, to defeat the Arab strength, especially Palestine, Israel and its supporters stopped an economical and political support, stopped the distribution of food and medicine, and closed main streets. Why does this conflict continue without ending? Abdel Wahab El-Messiri, the modern Egyptian intellectual, tries to answer that question by using “Jewish functional group” and “functional Zionist state” paradigm which looks the phenomena of Jews and Zionism through social, economical, and political context where they emerged. For El-Messiri, Israel is the functional Zionist state, the reproduction of Jewish functional group in Europe since 16 century until the beginning of 20 century. That functional state is cultivated by western imperialism power without the root of history and culture, but its residents cultivated and unified by the ancient Jewish myth and modern technology. The functional Zionist state, according to El-Messiri, plays a certain role and duty which is now its role is to go war against the Arab strength. This role and duty might be changed based on situation in the conflict area. On the contrary, if that functional state can not play its role as the tool of imperialism, the existence of the state would be end; its residents would go out to others countries or assimilate totally with people surrounding Israel. South Africa is the very example of colonialist settler which finished its role when Apartheid system broke down. El-Messiri’s perspective faces a strong resistance from both Zionist community and Egyptian traditional ulama. In Zionist perspective, Israel is the state for all Jews in the world who are attached organically and religiously with the land of Palestine. To back to the Jewish homeland (Palestine) is the part of God’s teaching, therefore whoever stands against Israelite policy is anti-Semite (for non Jewish people) and or infidel (for those of Jewish people). Zionist success in defeating the Arab strength has tight correlation with God’s scenario. God, as written in the Bible, would give Palestine to Jews. There is no intervention from imperialist power in Jewish settling in Palestine as El-Messiri assumes. Resistance also comes from ulama who believe that Zionism is the manifestation of bad Jewish attitude along human history. Al-Qur’an has written that Jews intended continuously to shatter Islam and its followers. Conflict is caused by different perspective between Arab and Zionist. In one side, Zionism refuses Arabic history and culture in Palestine because this land, according to Zionist, belongs to Jews. In another side, Arabic people have a very special and spiritual attachment with that of land. As long as Zionism refuses the right, history, and culture of Arab, the intifada must be continued, it means that the conflict is still far from the road of peace. It is true that Zionism able to fulfill the religious ambition of Jewish people, and at the same time it finished Jewish social and political problem in Europe. But to settle a very populated area such Palestine is a difficult action, only if Zionism uses weapon in order to decrease the Palestinian reaction. To use weapon is the most effective ways to finish indigenous people. This way, according to El-Messiri, is the very feature of colonialist action is several countries.

Kata Kunci : Zionisme dan Yahudi,Abdel Wahab El-Messiri,Zionism, imperialism, Jewish functional group, functional Zionist state