@ Always Ask. I had a similar debate with my son over Marcus Jastrow. Reportedly שומר שבת and one of the 2 Rabbis who walked out from the “trief banquet” of 1883, he eventually lost his congregation in Philadelphia because he resisted more radical “Reforms” and was the first professor of Talmud @ the Jewish Seminary of America, which was originally an Orthodox school.
In his time, Jastrow was affiliated with the Reform movement, but today would probably fall somewhere on the traditional side of the Modern Orthodox camp. That is more a commentary on early reform than modern orthodoxy. As many have observed about recent politics, the left tends to run further to the left, while the right tends to hold its ground, and a liberal from the 80s may easily find himself voting Republican today.
You need more aggressive historical contexualization to argue that either Mendlson or Heinz fall within the Jewish traditional. Indeed the most charitable interpretation of Mendleson’s ideas is that he was merely of philosopher whose notoriety and fame were used by others for their own interests. Heintz on the other hand transgressed on a basic principle that even the most estranged Jew would have despised. Claiming that he did it for personal advancement even in context does not excuse him.
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