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ZSK > RJBS is known for TuM, not RZ,
you may be right. RJBS was often looking from US POV, that is reacting to events in Israel from the POV of what choices were in front of American Jews or American Mizrahi. Even then, he sometimes prefaces his speeches with – I am not an expert on specific political issues, I am simply bringing my knowledge of Torah to contribute to the discussion. For example, he suggests to American Mizrahi to spend more energy/money on organizing American yeshivos rather than simply trying to fundraise for Israel (“I just built mine, I am not asking you to contribute but I am surprised you did not”). This stand-off view is actually makes it interesting comparing with those who were/are involved in daily issues in Israel.
As an illustration, I understand what you are saying about effect of Gush Katif, but from the outsider’s POV, it is a tactical issue, even as much as it was painful for some, and there is no way to make it as a defining issue in politics, even with the after-knowledge of the events that transpired later on.
1) HaKatan has unfortunately demonstrated time and again that he has no interest in views that aren’t his own (or even challenge them), and will just repeat the same arguments.
2) If you take a survey of what RJBS is known for, you’re going to overhwlemingly hear TuM and Modern Orthodoxy as opposed to Religious Zionism. As it happens, RJBS’s view is interesting – and I think is something Mizrachi should have considered.
3) I don’t really want to get into the politics surrounding Gush Katif. My use of such was merely to back what I said to HaKatan, nothing more. But the reality is that it completely changed the RZ community.
ZSK, I think for RJBS, RZ is very much related to MO – as in Orthodoxy is modern and is addressing modern issues, of which Israel is a major one.
Someone forwarded RJBS a newspaper article during WW2, asking him to respond in the paper. The article was by a British Jew who was astonished to observe German Jews in British internment camps. They were sitting and learning Gemora without paying attention to events around them. He writes – how can they be so focussed on discussing wars of the Roman Empire while totally ignore Normandy operation that may affect their whole lives. Are we a nation that is capable to operate in today’s world?
Rav did not respond to this letter at the time, but mentioned it 10 years later during heated discussions in Israeli Knesset: if the author of that article is still alive, he can now see Jews addressing issues of the day.
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