Bochur,
I think you have a very simplified version of what Zionists are saying (whether original or modern) based on something you heard from a friend who really does not like them. To claim intellectual honesty, you would need to find out more.
As to Israeli intellectual honesty, I can quote one Israeli professor I knew: he was not observant himself, and his teenage son started making snide remarks about dosim. So, the father said – if you want to have an opinion about such weighty topics, you need to know what you are talking about, so go get a class. So, the son went to learn – and soon stopped eating at his father’s house. Now, things can happen with everyone, check the mezuzahs, etc, BUT when professor’s second son grew up, he repeated the same shpiel (knowing the risks!) – with the same result. Both of the sons are observant, one was an advisor to a right-wing Israeli government.