Hmm. I just heard him in person speaking a month ago, and he spoke (among other things) about the huge value and impact of Torah for the Israeli and Jewish future. Maybe it has something to do with the audience. Maybe he is exactly what he claims to be, a secular Jew with a respect for tradition. I don’t understand the surprise or the disrespect.
Csar, Good afternoon. I guess Rav Kook was a kofer, then. I guess R’Shlomo Zalman Auerbach was one too. And many others, who recognized the role of the state in the context of the geulah, and talked or wrote about it publicly. I am sure your gadlus protects you from the consequences of maligning, by association, these gedolim.