A group of individuals from a Hasidic Jewish community in New York found themselves in legal trouble on Monday as law enforcement intervened in a disagreement over an illicit tunnel discreetly constructed on the premises of a historic synagogue, subsequently leading to its closure.
The confrontation between the authorities and those responsible for the secret passageways escalated into a physical altercation. Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesperson for the Chabad, described the individuals involved as a "group of extremist students."
The Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters, situated in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, witnessed turmoil as Jewish leaders and law enforcement confronted these individuals. The incident unfolded at the site, which was once the residence of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the leader of the orthodox Jewish movement. The building attracts thousands of visitors annually, and Schneerson's leadership revitalized the devastated Hasidic religious community post-Holocaust.
According to Seligson, the dissident students surreptitiously breached the walls of a vacant building behind the headquarters, creating an underground passage beneath office buildings and lecture halls that ultimately connected to the synagogue.
Efforts to repair the damaged walls by a construction crew on Monday faced opposition from the students responsible for the tunnels. Seligson explained, "Those efforts were disrupted by the extremists who broke through the wall to the synagogue, vandalizing the sanctuary, in an effort to preserve their unauthorized access."
The motive behind the creation of the tunnels remains undisclosed.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) responded to a call reporting a disorderly group trespassing and damaging a wall on Monday afternoon. The individuals responsible for constructing the tunnels were subsequently arrested on charges of criminal mischief, criminal trespass, and obstructing governmental administration, according to an NYPD spokesperson.
City inspectors conducted an emergency structural inspection at the site, during which police officers secured the headquarters behind barricades, preventing a group of young men from entering.
An anonymous tip about the tunnel's location was sent to the New York City Fire Department last month. However, when a fire prevention team responded, all exits were found to be operable and up to code, as stated by Amanda Farinacci, a spokesperson for the agency.
The NYPD has declared the building closed pending a structural safety review by city inspectors.a