Menachem, you convinced mew that L Rebbe used the word”kiruv”. As to “rehokim”, your observation is similar to mine – while L Rebbe himself generally objected to it, the expression pops up in indices and descriptions provided by editors, who assimilated in part into general community and lost sensitivity.
Avira, general theory is fine, but does Ramchal claim to direct kiruv of those rehokim? As Qwerty says, many Yidden who are visibly non-observant have a lot of mailos. That Russian family you visited and were surprised they care about Israel (dah, in my town, half of Yidden coming to pro-
Israel events are Rusim, not sure where they are coming from ..) – you are talking about people probably 5 (five) generations after Soviets wiped out all religious environment, then last 1-2 being further lost in American freedom – and seemingly married Jews through all of that, and probably more, despite the risks and opportunities… Similarly, with, say, Persian Jews who often travelled through remote areas to get out of there … compare their mailos with an American Yid who was surrounded by supportive environment and had limited interaction with outside world. I am not saying that everyone should go out there and experience interactions with KGB, but to consider that you are closer to Hashem than such a person is not a sure thing.