In his annual visit to Orchos Torah where he speaks before Selichos on the night of erev Rosh Hashonoh, the Rosh Yeshiva HaRav Shteinman said:
About seventy years ago, the holy HaRav Elchonon Wassermann zt"l said in the name of the Vilna Gaon that, even though the goyim always hated the Jews, it was not to such a great extent. They still did business together, and bought from each other, and the hatred was not to visible. But now that the hatred had become so strong, so that every non-Jew tries to do, Rachmono litzlan, bad to the Jews, it is a sign that there are complaints in Heaven [against us].
In that case nothing can be done against it [directly] such as those who want to issue a declaration, to say that we want such-and-such. This will not help because we cannot quench the hatred with declarations. But with what? With Torah, Avodoh and Gemilus Chassodim.
The same thing can be said today [about our situation in Eretz Yisroel]. There was always a majority of chilonim. All the time until today there was a majority of chilonim. But they did not behave so badly. But today it is so bad that they want to uproot the Torah entirely! They do all manner of things to uproot the Torah. This indicates that there are complaints [against us in Heaven]. With Torah, with Tefilloh and with Yiras Shomayim we can quench this.
According to the newspaper Merkaz HaInyonim, when Maran the Rosh Yeshiva got an aliya on Rosh Hashonoh for Shlishi, he asked the gabbai HaRav Moshe Yehuda Schneider to make a Mi Sheberach for all the regular daveners, the guests, those who learn Torah and those who support Torah, and those who donate to yeshivas and to kollels, and to all Beis Yisroel, except, he stressed, "to those reshoim who want to disturb those who learn Torah, Lapid and his partners."
