A historic Brooklyn synagogue known as Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue was a site of chaos when authorities sealed off a secret illegal tunnel into the building.
This synagogue is an important religious site to the Chabad Lubavitch movement of the Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York, according to an article by Jake Offenhartz with AP News.
According to locals and officers, the passage was built by a group of young men. The group claimed that the tunnels’ purpose was to fulfill the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s goals, who was the seventh leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The men claimed that they were implementing an expansion plan long sought after by the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
The tunnel measured 60 feet long and 8 feet wide, connecting four buildings owned by the Hasidic group through holes in the basements. It compromised the stability of two single-story structures. Department of Buildings spokesman Andrew Rudansky reported that the tunnel was empty except for tools and debris. He also said the illegal tunnels were not approved by the Department of Buildings. Investigators believe the passage began at an empty apartment building backing the synagogue and ran under the headquarters offices and lecture halls. The tunnels connect through cuts in basement walls in nearby buildings.
The Chabad officials said the group responsible for the tunnels were “young agitators.” When officials attempted to block off the tunnel, the men refused to leave.
The young men fought with police on January 8th over the sealing of the tunnel, protesting against a cement truck that arrived at the scene. A police report accounted for nine people arrested, which included people who damaged the synagogue’s wood paneling with crowbars.
At the scene of the brawl, five worshipers were detained. On January 9th, Tuesday, police barricaded the synagogue to allow New York City building safety agents to examine the tunnels, the structure, and the buildings surrounding it. Both the spokesperson for Chabad and the attorney for the arrested worshipers claimed it was simply naivety and young agitators seeking unauthorized access to the synagogue.
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, also called the Lubavitcher Rebbe, was the seventh leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and led from 1951 to his death in 1994. Worshipers view him as a messianic figure and believe he is either alive or will be resurrected. On the contrary, the Chabad movement rejects any belief that he is the Messiah. According to Melissa Goldin with AP News, “the movement continues to expand and has become the most outward-looking of Hasidic or strictly observant Orthodox Jewish groups.”
Due to the discovery of the illegal tunnels, antisemitism and baseless claims have sprouted all over social media. Such claims from social media say that it is allegedly proof that the tunnels are for illicit activities and sex trafficking. Misinformation that the Jewish Children’s Museum is connected to the tunnel is harmful. However, it is located across from the headquarters of the Chabad synagogue, not connected to the illegal tunnels.
