Riot Breaks Out At New York Synagogue After NYPD Discovers Hidden Tunnel System

2024 has only begun, but it will be hard to top this story.

A bizarre discovery under a New York synagogue led to a riot between a group of Orthodox Jews and the NYPD.

It was discovered that a group of Orthodox Jews were digging a tunnel under their synagogue to an abandoned women’s ritual bath.

The motivation behind the tunnels isn’t entirely clear, but the Synagogue leader Rabbit Yosef Braun has come out to condemn those digging in the tunnels.

Watch it here:

ILLEGAL TUNNELS FOUND IN NEW YORK TEMPLE pic.twitter.com/H45iG4RvHy

— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) January 9, 2024

The New York Post shares more on the story:

The enraged men, thought to be mostly in their teens and early 20s, were filmed tearing down wood panels and wooden support beams Monday at the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights.

Other footage from the temple on Eastern Parkway showed cops trying to hold back dozens of Hasidic Jewish men as they pushed their way into the 20-foot-wide enclosure underneath the women’s section, toppling over wooden pews in their anger.

Synagogue leader Rabbi Yosef Braun condemned those involved, saying they arrived “ready to destroy and deface the Holy Walls” — calling it “mind-boggling.”

Members of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement have reportedly been digging a tunnel under the Crown Heights synagogue for nearly a year.

It was apparently designed to reach an abandoned women’s mikvah — or ritual bath — around the corner and “expand” the synagogue, according to the Jewish outlet Forward, but it is unclear what motivated the members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community to start digging the passage.

Watch clips of the riots here:

Jews clash with police over secret tunnels under synagogue in New Yorkhttps://t.co/CTxMlb9cnA
a network of illegal tunnels was discovered being used for nefarious purposes. Plot twist: this was in New York, and Jews were building the tunnels 01/09 pic.twitter.com/cU3ySJyNPZ

— Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) January 9, 2024

More here:

Big Scandal in New York right now happening as it was discovered that Jews had secretly built underground tunnels beneath their synagogues.
What were they doing with these underground tunnels? What were they used for?
pic.twitter.com/cJqIRuSZzv

— Dr.Sam Youssef Ph.D.,M.Sc.,DPT. (@drhossamsamy65) January 9, 2024

Daily Mail shares more:

The synagogue in question is known as 770 thanks to its address at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights section.

It is the world headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch sect.

The dispute is believed to stem from a decades-long schism within the Chabad – one of the largest groups of Hasidic Jews in the world – which pitches the Chabad-Lubavitch movement against the synagogue leadership, as the groups fight over possession of the building.

As a result of the discovery, the women’s section was closed off.

The discovery of the tunnels has made many question the use of them.

Some worry about the possibility of human trafficking.

The motivation is unclear, and the NYPD will continue looking into the matter.