Albert Einstein's Letter and the Prediction of the Collapse of Israel
Photo: (AP Photo File)
- The establishment of Israel on Palestinian land by David ben-Gurion in May 1948 caused strong reactions from many parties. One of them is by the world famous physicist Albert Einstein.
One month before Israel was founded, on April 10 1948, Einstein was already critical of the establishment of the Jewish State. This attitude was expressed in a letter shown to Shepard Rifkin, Executive Director of American Friends of the Fighters for the Freedom of Israel.
In the 50-word letter, Einstein said the establishment of Israel brought real disaster to Palestine. Regarding this, Einstein said there were two parties who had to be responsible.
"When the real and final disaster befell us in Palestine, the first responsible for it would be England and the second responsible for it would be the terrorist organization built from our own ranks," said Einstein.
On this basis, Einstein said he did not want to be associated with people who were misleading and criminal regarding the founding of Israel. Unfortunately, the views and attitudes of the man born March 14 1879 became a thing of the past.
After all, we all now know that Israel was still established as a sovereign state on May 14, 1948. However, this fact did not weaken Einstein's critical views regarding the founding of Israel.
Seven months later, Einstein along with 29 other well-known US figures wrote an open letter to The New York Times. The letter was then published in the New York Times on December 4, 1948, entitled “New Palestine Party:
Visit of Menachem Begin and Aims of Political Movement Discussed”.
The key points of the letter were criticism of the establishment of the Harerut Party in Israel and Israeli PM Mencahem Begin's visit to the US. According to them, the party is similar to the Nazi party. In fact, it specifically called it a "terrorist party".
"The Freedom Party in the newly created state of Israel, a political party whose organization, methods, political philosophy and social appeal closely resemble those of the Nazi and fascist parties," the letter said.
Then, regarding Begin's visit to the US, they opposed it because this gave the impression of US support for the party which would strengthen US-Israel relations. If it gets closer, the practical existence of Palestine will clearly be disrupted.
On this basis, said Einstein et al, everyone should not support this party's steps. "Therefore, the undersigned (Einstein et al), use this means to publicly present several important facts regarding Begin and his party, and urge all parties not to support this latest manifestation of fascism," the letter concluded.
According to journalist Yvonne Ridley who researched Einstein's letters in a Middle East Monitor column, the letters indicate that Einstein predicted the country's future destruction. Even though this statement was made when Israel was just being founded.
In Ridley's view, Einstein wrote the letter out of disgust at the violence that occurred with the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. Because of this disgust, he never visited the land of Israel and rejected the offer to become President of Israel in 1952.
"For Einstein, Israel was formed from gun barrels, dynamite and the blood of Palestinians," Ridley wrote.
Surat Albert Einstein dan Ramalan Runtuhnya Israel
Foto: (AP Photo File)
- Pendirian Israel di tanah Palestina oleh David ben-Gurion pada Mei 1948 menimbulkan reaksi keras dari banyak pihak. Salah satunya oleh fisikawan ternama dunia Albert Einstein.
Satu bulan sebelum Israel berdiri, tepat pada 10 April 1948, Einstein sudah lebih dulu bersikap kritis soal pendirian Negara Yahudi itu. Sikap ini dituangkan dalam surat yang ditunjukkan kepada Shepard Rifkin, Executive Director American Friends of the Fighters for the Freedom of Israel.
Dalam surat sepanjang 50 kata itu, Einstein menyebut pendirian Israel membawa bencana nyata terhadap Palestina. Soal ini, Einstein menyebut ada dua pihak yang harus bertanggungjawab.
"Ketika bencana nyata dan terakhir menimpa kita di Palestina, yang pertama bertanggung jawab atas hal itu adalah Inggris dan yang kedua bertanggung jawab untuk itu, organisasi teroris yang dibangun dari barisan kita sendiri," kata Einstein.
Atas dasar inilah, Einstein menyebut dia tidak ingin terkait dengan orang-orang yang menyesatkan dan kriminal terkait pendirian Israel. Sayangnya, pandangan dan sikap pria kelahiran 14 Maret 1879 itu menjadi angin lalu.
Toh, kita semua sekarang mengetahui, Israel tetap berdiri sebagai negara berdaulat pada 14 Mei 1948. Meski begitu, fakta ini tak mengendurkan pandangan kritis Einstein soal pendirian Israel.
Tujuh bulan berselang, Einstein bersama 29 tokoh ternama AS lainnya menulis surat terbuka kepada The New York Times. Surat itu lantas diterbitkan New York Times pada 4 Desember 1948 berjudul "New Palestine Party: Visit of Menachem Begin and Aims of Political Movement Discussed".
Poin penting dari surat itu adalah kritikan atas pendirian Partai Harerut di Israel dan kunjungan PM Israel Mencahem Begin ke AS. Menurut mereka partai tersebut mirip dengan partai Nazi. Bahkan, secara spesifik menyebutnya sebagai "partai teroris".
"Partai Kebebasan di negara Israel yang baru dibentuk, sebuah partai politik yang organisasi, metode, filosofi politiknya, dan daya tarik sosialnya sangat mirip dengan Nazi dan partai fasis," tulis surat itu.
Lalu, soal kunjungan Begin ke AS mereka menentangnya karena ini memberi kesan dukungan AS terhadap partai tersebut yang bakal mempererat hubungan AS-Israel. Jika semakin erat, maka praktis eksistensi Palestina jelas bakal terganggu.
Atas dasar inilah, kata Einstein dkk, sudah seharusnya semua orang tidak mendukung langkah partai ini.
"Oleh karena itu, yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini (Einstein dkk), menggunakan cara ini untuk menyajikan secara terbuka beberapa fakta penting mengenai Begin dan partainya, dan mendesak semua pihak untuk tidak mendukung manifestasi fasisme terbaru ini," tutup surat itu.
Menurut jurnalis Yvonne Ridley yang meneliti surat-surat Einstein di kolom Middle East Monitor, surat-surat tersebut mengindikasikan bahwa Einstein meramalkan kehancuran negara tersebut di masa depan. Meski pernyataan tersebut dituangkan saat Israel baru berdiri.
Dalam pandangan Ridley, Einstein menulis surat itu dengan rasa muak melihat kekerasan yang terjadi seiring pendirian negara Israel pada 1948. Atas rasa muak ini pula dia tidak pernah mengunjungi tanah Israel dan menolak tawaran menjadi Presiden Israel pada 1952. "Bagi Einstein, Israel terbentuk dari laras senjata, dinamit dan darah orang-orang Palestina," tulis Ridley.