Watan-According to American media reports, the New York Police closed a secret tunnel on Tuesday in a synagogue in New York along Eastern Parkway after a brawl occurred between the police and its attendees.
This synagogue serves as a focal point for the worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement and is a prominent site for the Jewish community in Brooklyn.
According to American media reports, Fox News stated that the New York Police arrested a group of Hasidic Jewish worshipers amid a dispute over a secret tunnel that had been dug clandestinely about 6 months ago to expand the renowned synagogue, along with a historic Jewish temple in Brooklyn.
This led to a brawl between the police and those who attempted to defend this secret tunnel.
Secret Tunnel Beneath Jewish Synagogue in New York
It was revealed that the discovered secret tunnel was dug beneath the building of the Chabad movement, the largest Jewish organization in the world. Young people affiliated with the movement tried to confront construction workers to prevent them from closing the tunnel.
Footage circulated on social media shows a cavernous concrete space approximately 20 feet wide beneath the women’s section of the movement’s building.
“قبل ساعات في نيويورك تم اكتشاف وجود نفق سري لليهود
تحت كنيس يهودي وغير معروف سبب حفر هذه الانفاق
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” النفق يربط الكنيس بمبنى مجاور ويوجد ايضا مدخل ومخرج سري من الشارع_تم القبض على اكثر من 10 يهود بعد مقاومة الشرطه التي ارادت اغلاق النفق
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_ أحد الادعاءات هو أنه تم حفره من… pic.twitter.com/oHULFviljB— Dr.mehmet canbekli (@Mehmetcanbekli1) January 9, 2024
According to the same source, the building located at 770 Eastern Parkway was previously the residence of the leader of the movement, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, attracting thousands of visitors each year.
Motti Seligson, the spokesperson for the Chabad movement, stated that “a group of ‘extremist’ students surreptitiously penetrated the walls of the vacant building behind the headquarters, leading to the creation of an underground passage beneath a row of office buildings and lecture halls that ultimately connected to the synagogue.”
The property management enlisted a construction crew on Monday to repair the damaged walls, leading to a confrontation with those who want to preserve the secret tunnel.
Local media reported that at least 10 members of the Jewish movement were arrested after the New York Police were called to quell the riot and prevent attempts to fill the tunnel with cement.
A police spokesperson stated that officers were summoned to the building on Monday afternoon to respond to an unorganized group trespassing on others’ property and causing damage to the wall.
After officers removed a man from the tunnel, a group of onlookers was seen pushing the officers, hurling wooden desks, and scattering prayer books.
It was not immediately clear when the tunnel was constructed or its intended purpose.
Internal Division within the Synagogue
As building safety inspectors assessed the damage on Tuesday, a group of police officers stood behind barricades surrounding the headquarters, preventing a row of young people from entering the building.
Amanda Farinacci, spokesperson for the New York City Fire Department, stated that the department received an anonymous report about the site last month. However, when the fire prevention team responded, they found all exits to be operational and in compliance with building codes.
Seligson mentioned that the building is now closed, awaiting a structural safety review.
According to media reports, the conflict is believed to stem from a decades-old internal division, pitting the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement within Orthodox Judaism against the synagogue’s leadership.
The two sides seem to disagree on the legal ownership of the 100-year-old property, which serves as both a synagogue and a global headquarters for Chabad-Lubavitch.