Read the work of Avi-Ram Tzoreff.
קדמה מזרחה: ר׳ בנימין, דו לאומיות וציונות-שכנגד
It turns out that there was a well-articulated movement that could have done things better.
There's a particularly wonderful interview with Dr. Tzoreff on היסטוריה גדולה בקטנה, from about a year ago.