An intimate look into the tunnel underneath the historic Brooklyn synagogue is now being shared after a videographer captured it. The clip shows the videographer going down some stairs and through a hallway to a dirty room. In the room, a grate has been removed from the wall of the building.
The videographer crawls through it, showing viewers that it leads to a 3-foot-high dirt tunnel that is about 50 feet long. It goes around two corners to the headquarters’ location of its men’s ritual bath.
Allegedly, rogue members of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement had been digging the tunnel for nearly a year. The tunnel is under the 100-year-old synagogue. According to the Jewish outlet Forward, the tunnel was designed to reach the abandoned men’s mikvah around the corner to “expand” the synagogue.
The tunnel was discovered in December 2023. Neighbors has reported suspicious sounds coming from beneath their homes.
More from LittleThings: Woman Started Asking Men On Bumble Where They Were During January 6 Riots & They Told Her
Rabbi Motti Seligson, the spokesman for Chabad-Lubavitch, emailed a statement to the New York Post. “Some time ago, a group of extremist students broke through a few walls in adjacent properties to the synagogue at 784-788 Eastern Parkway to provide them unauthorized access.”
“Earlier today, a cement truck was brought in to repair those walls," he revealed. "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 students were since arrested and the building is currently closed while it undergoes a structural safety review.
“Lubavitch officials have attempted to gain proper control of the premises through the New York State court system," the spokesman explained. "Unfortunately, despite consistently prevailing in court, the process has dragged on for years.”
“This is, obviously, deeply distressing to the Lubavitch movement, and the Jewish community worldwide," he concluded. "We hope and pray to be able to expeditiously restore the sanctity and decorum of this holy place.”
Another statement revealed that the rogue members were in the US on student visas. Steps are now being taken to revoke their visas. “These individuals have been squatting in the synagogue and attempted to take control by demolishing walls to connect the basement to the adjacent building, intending to ‘expand’ the sanctuary,” the statement said.
A riot broke out on January 8, 2024, when cement mixers arrived to fill the tunnel in. The group of men, mostly in their teens and early 20s, were tearing down wood panels and wooden support beams to try to gain access back into their tunnel.
