Thanks to Josh for putting it into perspective.
What kind of mishugeneh dimyon to the mafia. The mafia are a bunch of criminals trying to selflishly enrich themselves and steal. The Zionists were devoted to a noble purpose that of saving Jewish lives who had nowhere to go and were suffering one tragedy after another in the lands of their hosts. They wanted to do binyan haaretz and establish Jewish rule in EY after 2000 years of golus. What could be a nobler purpose than that? They were willing to go to war and give up their own lives and many did pay the ultimate price. In their minds if one can kill a British or Arab solider who was in their way (which they usually gae ample warning to clear out first), why should a Jewish traitor be any different.
Today the NK are harmless and only make silly rallies. But what if chas vshalom one of them would decide to spill state secrets to a foreign govt like Vanunu did? Then they would no longer be harmless demonstrators, and would be subject to far more severe repercussions. The entire nation would be calling for their heads, and there might be halachic justification for it. Again. I am not paskening anything. But when you act as a traitor to your people you put yourself in harms way.
Dehaan was trying to prevent the formation of the State of Israel, nothing less. He would have preferred British or Arab rule, which was totally unacceptable to many at that time. The Zionists were not out to change his life in any way. They do not supress chareidim any more than any foreign govt ever did throughout history. They were not endangering his lifestyle in any way.
Think about it, what is the worst they say about the Zionists? On one occasion they cut off the payos of Yemenite kids. That is the worst they ever did. Ashrei hador sheavonosov sefurim. Compare that to life under Chmielnicki, the Crusaders, the Nazis, etc. When the Nazis used their scissors on beards and payos, it was a lot more painful.
Give me a break already. How in the world would the Zionists have made life in the Old Yishuv worse than under the Turks or British or Arabs. They did a lot of good, in fact. For one thing, I don’t think anybody starved to death since they came into power, as happened in the Old Yishuv. Reb Aryeh lost a child to starvation. Let us be honest once and for all. How in the world can any rational person think we would be better off under foreign rule. One literally would have to be mishugeneh or a total fabricator of history to think otherwise. It is this nonstop chareidi propaganda and brainwashing which has literally destroyed the minds of thousands of kinderlach and poisoned them with hate. All the Zionists wanted to do was to establish a Jewish state with complete freedom of religion.
One last point, this parking garage business is of course a terrible example of Zionist undermining of Torah in the eyes of many here. But let’s step back a minute. Even if the garage was kept open as originally planned, was anybody forced to be mechalel Shabbos? It is only for those who choose to drive. Not one chareidi was being asked or forced to drive. The govt even asked a shaila, and was told by chareidi parties it was ok. So let’s assume it was wrong, but did they force chilul shabbos on anybody, as did the Russians who drafted the Steipler and made him do rifle practice on Shabbos. Are the Zionists worse than the Russians? That is only the smallest example. So what in the world did Dehaan have to lose by having the Zionists running the state as compared to any other foreign power. Absolutely nothing. His life and that of the chareidim would not have been impacted in any way, and they still are left alone.
Finally, Kilobear mentioned the recent tshuvah movement. Well what in the world do you attribute that to? It is because so many Jewish kids take a year off and go to learn in Israel before college, or go for a summer or a trip, and are inspired to learn more about their roots and yiddishkeit. And when they come back, they tell their friends and set up shuls and schools, etc. Do you seriously believe that with the Arabs in charge of EY we would see this renewal? It is such total sheker that even with all the flaws and imperfections of the current govt, that any other foreign govt would be better. Say you disagree with the lack of Jewish education in the Israeli schools which is definitely a problem. Well how much Jewish education would the British or Arabs offer in the public schools? So no matter how much you complain, you are no worse off under the Zionists, but if you make a little effort, you can probably count a hundred ways in which you are better off.