Secret 50ft tunnel dug by 'extremist rebel Hasidic Jews' under synagogue sparks riot in New York
10 January 2024, 13:27 | Updated: 10 January 2024, 13:41
A riot broke out in New York after police discovered a secret tunnel into a historic synagogue dug by 'extremists' who wanted to expand the premises.
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Eleven Hasidic Jewish people were arrested after the brawl erupted with police at the synagogue in Brooklyn, the world headquarters of the the conservative Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
The tunnel is believed to have been dug by "young agitators" within Chabad-Lubavitch to gain access to the synagogue from a nearby building.
The secret passage was discovered when neighbours heard underground building work, and reported the noise to the authorities.
The ringleaders claim to be following the wishes of the movement's former leader to expand the headquarters. A video purports to show the extent of the tunnel.
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The discovery prompted an emergency structural inspection by the city this week.
Motti Seligson, a spokesman for Chabad, said a "group of extremist students" broke through the walls of an unused building behind the synagogue at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights neighbourhood.
They then bored an underground passage beneath office buildings and lecture halls that eventually linked up with the synagogue, Mr Seligson said.
The property manager then brought in builders to fix the walls, leading to a stand-off with the "extremists" who wanted the tunnel to remain in place.
Mr Seligson added: "Those efforts were disrupted by the extremists who broke through the wall to the synagogue, vandalising the sanctuary, in an effort to preserve their unauthorised access".
Police were called on Monday afternoon to tackle the group. Video showed police confronting young men standing in a hollowed-out space inside a brick wall.
After officers removed one of the men from the space, a group of onlookers shoved officers, tossing wooden desks and scattering prayer books. One officer appeared to deploy an irritating spray at the jeering group.
Ten people were arrested for criminal mischief and criminal trespass and one for obstructing governmental administration.
Mr Seligson said that the building had closed while a structural safety review takes place.
He added: "This is, obviously, deeply distressing to the Lubavitch movement, and the Jewish community worldwide.
"We hope and pray to be able to expeditiously restore the sanctity and decorum of this holy place."
Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, the chairman of Chabad, hit out at the tunnellers. He said: "These odious actions will be investigated, and the sanctity of the synagogue will be restored.
"This is, obviously, deeply distressing to the Lubavitch movement and the Jewish community worldwide. We hope and pray to be able to expeditiously restore the sanctity and decorum of this holy place."
The synagogue was once home to the movement's leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. It draws thousands of visitors each year.
Rabbi Schneerson led the Chabad-Lubavitch for more than four decades before his death in 1994. He reinvigorated a Hasidic religious community that had been devastated by the Holocaust.
