Why I don’t like the name Religious Zionism.

 Although I consider myself a talmid of Rav Kook & Rav Soloveitchik, I do not label myself as a “Religious Zionist”. This is not just an issue of semantics, but rather one of self definition. Below are some sources that highlight some ideas on this matter. This not a complete dissertation of my world view, nevertheless, it does give some insight into my thought process.

Source 1: Facing Current Challenges: R’Leo Lev chapter on Zionism
“Zionists who are not Zionists”

In the religious Zionist camp there are also many who view the Torah, rather than the nation, as the supreme value. When they see themselves as Zionists, they use Zionism to mean something entirely different from the accepted meaning. Such usage turns the term into an obstruction to effective communication; beyond this, it may compromise the clarity of thought of those who use it.

The source of the problem lies in the fact that Zionism was coined by a non-observant jew, and as noted, it is impossible to clarify its meaning using Torah sources. It is therefore appropriate to assign the term the meaning attributed to it by most of the people who use it, and to formulate a new term for those who not use it to refer primary nationalism. Presumably Rabbi Y.D Soloveitchik, the last spiritual leader of the Mizrachi movement in the United States, had this in mind when he wrote, “We do not believe in ‘Zionism Plus religion’ or ‘religious Zionism’. For us there is only one special noun – Torah”

“I believe every Torah-true Jew must take pains to free himself of these errors. Then, he will no longer be a Zionist – not a general Zionist, not even a religious Zionist. He will be a lover of Israel, of the Land of Israel, even an excellent citizen of the State of Israel. He will be engaged in the state’s advancement and in straightening its path, involved in its economy and politics, and will take pains to awaken it to its purpose. A “Zionist”, however, he will not be.”

Source 2: Interview with R’ Yoel Schwartz of Nachal Chareidi
(http://yeranenyaakov.blogspot.com/2005/08/rav-yoel-schwartz-on-geula.html)

[After giving it to secular Zionism, he was asked, "What about Religious Zionism?" His reply:]"There are people who call themselves Zionists, but they really go with the approach of the Vilna Gaon, who holds that one can hasten the Ge’ula by building Israel, actively – not passively. There are 3 approaches: The first holds not to do anything [in building up the infrastructure of the Land of Israel], and that anything done will just slow down the Geula process. The Zionists’ approach is "We’ll take our fate into our own hands." The third approach is that of the Vilna Gaon, explained in his book "Kol Hator", that it’s incumbant upon us to be partners with Hashem in the world, and that this is what will hasten the Geula. I believe that the Halacha in heaven is like this [third] opinion because events in the field prove so: the center of Torah today is in Eretz Yisrael. It’s incumbant upon us to understand the greatness of the hour.

And finally why the whole issues of labels is inappropriate and counter productive:

Source 3: Labels are for suits
http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template.asp?AID=4476