Believing that the prayer room of the famous 770 Synagogue had become too small, “radical” students from the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish movement dug a tunnel under the century-old building. They are fighting today so that it is not blocked, at the risk of the building.
It all started with suspicious noises and ended in a general fight. Last December, residents of Eastern Parkway, a street in Brooklyn, were concerned about hearing “suspicious noises” under their homes. Taking advantage of work to modernize the building’s plumbing, they invited the workers to check where these nuisances could come from and discovered… a tunnel!
An underground passage had been dug between the historic Chabad Synagogue (known worldwide as 770), the abandoned men’s mikvah (ritual bath) – located on the street corner – and the world headquarters of the Chabad movement – Lubavitch, three buildings located on the same street. A passage just under a meter high, but 15 meters long, which raised fears for the safety of the historic synagogue.
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The synagogue was closed and a cement truck was sent to the site on Monday January 8, 2024 to try to plug the tunnel. But when the workers and the police (responsible for site security) arrived, a real riot began.
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Expand the prayer room
According to the Jewish media “ Forward “, dozens of Chabad (branch of Judaism) students, accompanied by men and women of all ages, sat in the tunnel refusing to allow it to be blocked. A significant number of worshipers from this place of worship were also present to try to prevent the workers from taking action. And at the sight of police tearing down the woodwork of the century-old place of worship to reach the famous tunnel, some came to blows. A total of twelve people were arrested. These were mainly foreign students, who will be repatriated to their country of origin (mainly Israel).
🚨#BREAKING: Riot Unfolds as NYPD Responds to Discovery of Underground Tunnel in Brooklyn Temple ⁰
📌#CrownHeights | #BrooklynCurrently, numerous law enforcementare at the scene of a riot at the Chabad headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where individuals tore wooden… pic.twitter.com/U4oSYL0Fkb
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 9, 2024
Since then, the media around the world have tried to trace the starting point of this tunnel. And it appears to be the materialization of a years-long conflict between the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and the synagogue’s current leadership. Because today, Chabad-Lubavitch owns the mikveh and the women’s prayer room, but not the sanctuary. However, the faithful of Chabad-Lubavitch find themselves cramped in 770 and have for several years wanted to see the prayer room expand, without their wish being granted.
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A refusal that certain “radical” Chabad students would not have accepted. They would therefore have started to dig this famous tunnel during the pandemic (in 2020), according to the “ New York Post “. “The idea was to force the establishment to expand the space” for prayer, according to a source cited by our colleagues.
Long-term work
The rebels, described as foreign teenagers and young adults, mainly from Israel, first managed to enter the abandoned mikvah and then dug a tunnel under the women’s sanctuary space (located in the adjoining building). ), before entering the main and massive sanctuary of the synagogue. “They used very basic tools – shovels and picks, sledgehammers, stuff like that. Not professional equipment,” explains a source, stressing that it took them many months.
Since then, many students have gathered there, particularly to study the Torah according to “ The Times of Israel ».
2024-01-10 18:53:33
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