“the fact that the Kiruv movement is past its prime.”
This has been true for decades now. I can’t provide stats for this, but it seems like over the past 10 years, Chofetz Chaim has abandoned more communities than they’ve established.
“Even the classic “proofs” for Orthodox Judaism a la Rabbis Kelemen, Gottlieb, and Mechanic are passe. As an article in the Jewish Action a few months ago put it” “Proofs for the Torah?! That is so 90’s!””
I don’t know that they were even a good idea in the 90’s. I think they’re more stuck in the 60’s and 70’s when there were socially liberal, hippie baalei teshuva. That’s over. If they want to have any success today, I need to go after the weird kid with no friends who gets made fun of for wearing a MAGA hat in public. B’zman hazeh, those are the only people who are going to give up a secular life for an extremely rigid religion.
“So before patronizing us with your chareid self-righteous attitude of who’s in and who’s out”
This was unnecessary and downright confusing. All he pointed out was that the Conservative/Reform movements have created people who identify as Jewish even though they are not. He’s not saying “who’s in and out.” The halachah is.