Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 This is absolutely meshuggeneh! A secret tunnel in a NYC synagogue leads to a brawl between police and worshippers APNEWS.COM A group of Hasidic Jewish worshippers were arrested amid a dispute over a secret tunnel built beneath a historic Brooklyn synagogue, setting off a brawl between police and those who tried to defend the makeshift passageway. Quote A historic Brooklyn synagogue that serves as the center of an influential Hasidic Jewish movement was trashed this week during an unusual community dispute that began with the discovery of a secret underground tunnel and ended with worshippers brawling with police. Each year the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters on Crown Heights’ busy Eastern Parkway draws thousands of visitors, including many international students. Its Gothic Revival facade is immediately recognizable to adherents of the Chabad movement, inspiring replicas of the revered building to be built all over the world. But on Tuesday, the synagogue remained closed off by police barricades as New York City building safety agents inspected whether a tunnel dug without official permission may have caused structural damage to the famed property. Officials and locals said young men in the community had recently built the passage to the sanctuary in secret. When the group’s leaders tried to seal it off Monday, they staged a protest that turned violent as police moved in to make arrests. Videos of the altercation here: UPDATED 10:20PM: Chaos In 770 After Attempt Made To Close The Tunnel Under 770 CROWNHEIGHTS.INFO Chaos is reigning in 770 after the powers that be attempted to seal the tunnel under 770, leading to widespread vandalism inside the building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris- Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 God I wish @Tao 2.0 was around to comment on this one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 3 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: Videos of the altercation here: UPDATED 10:20PM: Chaos In 770 After Attempt Made To Close The Tunnel Under 770 CROWNHEIGHTS.INFO Chaos is reigning in 770 after the powers that be attempted to seal the tunnel under 770, leading to widespread vandalism inside the building. The comments below read like something you'd see on a Korean drama. (When someone on the show reads the comments of an article (scripted) on a k-drama - to clarify) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePi Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Why were they building a tunnel under the synagogue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 15 minutes ago, ThreePi said: Why were they building a tunnel under the synagogue? Quote The tunnels were the result of an ongoing dispute between the Chabad Lubavitch community and a more extremist splinter sect, which has long been embroiled in turmoil over ownership of the building housing the headquarters. Members of the splinter group believe that Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, who led the Chabad Lubavitch movement before his death at age 92 in 1994, is the Messiah, a claim that the mainstream Chabad movement rejects. In 2006, a court determined that the mainstream Chabad Lubavitch community had control over the building, which is on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn’s heavily Hasidic Crown Heights neighborhood. Yet there has still been tension between the two groups, with the newspaper the Jewish Chronicle reporting today that about six months ago, a small group of members from the messianic movement started construction on a network of underground tunnels in order to gain illegal access to the building. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xbob42 Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Building underground tunnels to gain illegal access... couldn't they just walk in the front door? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CayceG Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 It isn't solely about access. It's about connecting a Mikvah (ritual bath) in another location directly to this Shul. It just so happens to be done by a weird Messianic sect who denies that the real owner of the building actually owns it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 They will just have to build a code approved secret passage now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spork3245 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I have no idea who this guy is, but if this is real, it’s absolutely hilarious: 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitizenVectron Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 TikTok - Make Your Day VM.TIKTOK.COM 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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