Think big, I appreciate your replies. before I address yours, allow me to write a quick posting to joseph and wil lhill. I did write it earlier today but it seems not to have been posted.
I have to tell you both , in reference to Kastner, that I knew many yidden who absolutely did not agree with YOUR characterization of him as a collaborator….etc.
My own father, zichroinoi livrocho, knew him well in the war and clearly thought that his actions were lishmo. Additonally, here in Monsey, I personally know TODAY a grandson of one of the Poskei hador who , together with his brothers, was saved by Kastner and was on the train. So, it was not only his family but also many,many other people who were saved that day. I don’t want to dwell upon this matter too much because you will continue thinking yours and I will continue saying that no one knows the whole truth.
Concerning his postwar testimonies, I will try to find an exact description of this testimony in Nurnberg. If the transcripts of the Supremne Court have it, this will also suffice. I am saying this because Will hill’s question about postwar testimony is indeed a valid accusation and has more weight than questioning the very nebulous events of the war.
As far as think big’s questions. I will do “punk kapoir” and answer al acharon first.
As far as I know- and I grew up in an agudah environment- none of the Gedolim of the past dor -except the Satmarer Rov zz’l” thought that the medinah was “treif”. You surely know that Reb Itshe meir Levin z’l , the brother-in’law of the gerer rebbe zz’l signed the Declaration of Independence. You also know that the Ponevitzer Rav zz’l put up the Israeli flag on Yom ha-atazmaut. The kloisenburger Rebbe zz’l made alyah to Eretz yisroel to found kiryat Sanz because he wanted a better environment for his chassidim. The same goes for Vishnitz, Belz and others.None of them ever said that the medinah is treif. Their original argument was with secular Zionism which clearly had an idea of a Torah-less medinah, chas vesholom. On this, they united to fight it. Once the medinah was established, no one that I know ever claimed that it should be dismantled ,chas vesholom. Even today, the chareidim have problems with many of the things happening in Eretz Yisroel ( as i do,btw) but they sit in the Knesset or run towns like Bnai brak and Jerushulaim to try to better it.
I don’t know of a bigger proof that they tacitly agree to the medinah and would be aghast if anyone would call it treif. I am not going to address your contention that the founding of Israel was against halacha,due to the constrictions of space. Only the Satmarer rebbe felt that way and I can show you plenty of rebuttals to the question of sholosh shevuos.
IF the medinah would indeed be “treif’ then not one Godol or rebbe could participate in its leadership. Yet- the opposite is true. Quod est demonstrantum, the proof lies in the eating of pudding, you can only believe your own eyes..etc..meaning that the facts show otherwise. Once the medinah was established, the question of sholosh shebuos, of secular zionism ,all became moot. What was ,and is ,important is to build a land where ultimately “umoloh hooertz deah”.
As far as your other questions. I suspect that we will agree to disagree on the question whether it is ‘milchams hashem’ or not. I squarely believe that it is (check the Rambam on this)and because of this, I think that everyone should participate in the defense of Eretz Ysroel. As you might know, there is now a nachal charedi and I say to them, jasher kokachem. (This was tried by the Vishnizer rebbe zz’l fifty years ago but he was cowed by the roshey yeshiva in abandoning the plan. Check your history).
As far as kollelim go, as you know, under your influence , I have decided to be careful with my words, so all I will say is that kollel should be for the best and leave it at that.
Lastly, you and I look at the arab/jewish question from different perspectives. I don’t know if conditions were that much worse in Eretz yisroel than russia,etc. but whatever the facts, it was inevitable that Eretz ysroel would become independent from the ottoman empire, just like Syria, Iraq, Jordan, etc…If you espouse the view that without Zionism, there would now be a paradise-or at least a benign- regime in Eretz yisroel where Jews would prosper, then I beg to differ greatly. Look at saudia Arabia, where no Jews can live and it has nothing to do with Israel. Look at Syria, where the jews were oppressed from way before Zionism, and also others,including Yemen by the way.
MY point is that Hakodesh boruch huh sees the future and He made sure that we could live in our homeland under our own rule, because without us being ‘baalei batim” there we might not have a yishuv there at all. You may disagree with that but history is the only true emess, and it is so because it is guided by the Eibershter.