There is an interesting website called True Torah Jews Against Zionism. On this website is a story about the way the Israeli government handled some of the immigrant children during the era just after achieving statehood. Here is an excerpt:
"And truly this was not the first time this had happened. It was only the first time that it happened on such a large scale. Even as early as 1943 some Yemenite children also were brought to Palestine and had their peyos shorn off. In addition the Jewish world was aghast about the forcible coercion to abandon religious observance of over one thousand Polish children refugees from Hitler brought by the way of Teheran. These were the famous children of Tehran, the “YALDI TEHERAN”."
It is very sad, indeed disgusting, when children are coerced to abandon religious observance. But this story, whether accurate, taken out of context or whether there were mitigating circumstances is not my issue, here. My issue is that stories like this are used by Medina haters to show just how evil the State of Israel was, and still is.
Most of such criticism stems from the philosophy of Satmar which is a legitimate but minority view questioning the legitimacy of a pre-Moshiach State. But it is one thing to have this view. It is an entirely different enterprise to act on it. Neturei Karta has taken upon itself the mantle of “military wing” of Satmar and thereby causes perhaps the greatest Chilul HaShem in the Torah world today. But can all be blamed on Neturei Karta? I don’t think so. Clearly the attitude exists in Satmar too even if they don’t actually act upon it. But the rhetoric from Satmar is almost as strong. So strong, in fact, it sounds almost like "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion". Just substitute "Zionists" for Jews.
Neturei Karta has taken the Satmar position and has perverted it to the point of inspiring extremists within their camp to snuggle up to, and laud terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and regimes like Iran who perpetrate, advocate, and/or support the indiscriminate murder of ALL Jews (not just Zionists). Neturei Karta is not Satmar. But they are Satmar’s soldiers whether Satmar likes it or not.
Often one will hear Satmar strongly disavow these people as a bunch of crazy extremists that nobody supports. But it is a meaningless comment when the only difference between Satmar and Neturei Karta is that Neturei Karta acts on identical beliefs while Satmar just spews nearly the same venomous rhetoric. They take every opportunity to bash the Medina.
Need I repeat the obvious? Israel has given millions, perhaps even billions of dollars by now, to Bnei Torah either directly or through their Yeshivos and other Mosdos. It is a State which has enabled Torah to flourish like no other time since the Churban Bayis Sheni... a State which has provided an immediate haven to holocaust refugees the minute they were granted Statehood by the UN... and so much more.
Of course the early Zionist pioneers weren't saints. Neither are the current leaders. And I concede that there were some virulently anti Torah Zionists in the early days. There are even a few now. But they are not all anti Torah. Not by a long shot. And the truly bad ones (Shinui) just lost the election. All of them. Not a single seat did they get!
Some really bad decisions were made by the early Zionist pioneers. Some had anti Torah motives, some just went along, and some just didn’t know any better. The same is true now. But to so strongly condemn the entire enterprise as Satmar does, and to a lesser extent Agudah and now even the right wing of the Religious Zionists... is to invite bloodshed upon our people. It inspires and ennobles our enemies to go out and kill us.
