Those detained in the tunnel, taken out with their hands behind them and handcuffed, were chanted as heroes when they emerged to the surface, guarded by the police. The scene did not take place in Gaza, but in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights, in the New York headquarters of the prominent global movement of Chabad-Lubavitcher Hasidic Jews.
The confrontation between the men in black suits and curly locks with the guys in blue uniforms from the New York police was captured in several videos that are still causing a stir on social media.
Apparently, the matter started last year, when it was discovered that, during the pandemic period, the youngest, and most religiously radical sector of the movement, began to dig a tunnel underground, to an adjacent property, to expand the temple. They did not have any type of permit but they followed the guidelines of the legendary Rabbi Menachem Mendel Scheneerson, who died in 1994 and became a myth among his followers.
But on Monday everything exploded when a group of workers with a concrete truck arrived at the place, one of the most significant religious enclaves in the city, known as 770, due to its address on Eastern Parkway, with the aim of covering the conduit, which had no longer a secret. After fighting on the surface, at least a dozen Hasidic people decided to sit in inside the tunnel to try to prevent that passage from being blocked. Some ended up with traces of cement on their bodies.
Someone had called the police, who were not exactly met with welcoming prayers. A group of Jews had formed a prayer wall. After the riot, nine members of the group were arrested, according to the Brooklyn district attorney.
Rabbi Motti Seligson said in a statement that the group of young men had carried out this project without the community’s permission because they felt a special connection to that place because the revered leader used it for his own spiritual cleansing.
“This is obviously deeply distressing for the Lubavitcher movement and the global Jewish community,” Seligson said. “Those who have tried to prevent the repair of the wall are extremists who have already vandalized the sanctuary to preserve unauthorized access,” he noted.
In the Housing Department of the New York City Council, complaints had been received from neighbors, who warned that the building was unsafe due to this clandestine construction, once it was discovered.
It’s unclear how they drilled the tunnel, who did it, or what they hoped to achieve, but some of those who entered the synagogue indicated they intended to speed up that old expansion project by bypassing municipal regulations and permits. This is a dispute that has been going on for decades within that community.
Since the death of Rabbi Scheneerson, a successor has not been named, although the global Lubavitcher community is committed to continuing the vision of its great religious leader. But they are divided, as evidenced by the fact that despite the time that has passed, they have still not achieved unanimity to put a plaque on the façade with which to honor the memory of their leader.
Those who know that community well and their own press have explained that a small faction of young messianic students, who describe the rabbi as a “messiah” (posters with his image and that qualification are widespread in New York), considered that they should be fulfilled His plans. They speak of the missing person in the present tense and there are faithful who believe that he never died.
“We must fulfill the rabbi’s wishes,” proclaimed several of those present at the brawl. Many also expressed frustration at the “inaction” of community leaders. “It’s hard but there was no other way to make his vision a reality,” others noted.
