It is widely believed that part of the Orthodox establishment’s dislike for Steinsaltz arose from the fact that he appeared from nowhere.
He grew up in a secular Zionist family with strong trade union involvement in pre-state Palestine and became Orthodox of his own accord just before his bar mitzvah.
But Steinsaltz thinks the establishment could have accepted his background if he were more of a people person. He was targeted because he is “not gregarious” — he neither networked nor cultivated the right people.
The author, himself, says that meeting Steinsaltz was a shock because he is so different in person than in his writing.
This doesn't mean that the conflict will be resolved. In person, some criminals are very nice guys but most conflicts are not that extreme and permit some compromise. Also, even in a court of law, if the accused shows remorse, in spite of the crime, it is taken into account during the sentencing.