Radical student groups in the ultra-Orthodox Hasidic sect secretly hired immigrant workers to help build a controversial tunnel into the sect's world headquarters in Crown Heights – all over the holy site. He did so to fulfill what he felt was a religious obligation to expand, the Post reported.
Six rebels from the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement secretly began digging a tunnel 3 feet high, 20 feet wide and 50 feet long for themselves, using crude equipment and their hands. They stuffed their pockets with dirt to keep their activities hidden from sect leaders and the broader community, Orthodox community sources told the Post.
“Have you ever seen the movie “The Shawshank Redemption?'' said Eitan Kalmowicz, a member of the Lubavitcher community in Crown Heights.
The men then hired a group of immigrant workers, most of them in their teens to early 20s, to retrieve the collectibles and complete the job, Kalmowitz said, referring to the workers as ” “Mexican”.
Kalmowitz said that during the clandestine operation, workers were working at an abandoned men's ceremonial bath near Chabad World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway (known in the area simply as 770th Street). It is said that he lived in a building.
“Mexicans lived in the building for three weeks during construction,” Kalmowicz said, adding that the immigrants did the work “properly” and installed the support beams. “They slept and ate there because it was a covert operation.”
Another Chabad member said he was shocked at how they covered it up.
“I was surprised by the stealth and secrecy of it all,” said a 38-year-old Chabad member who requested anonymity. “I can't believe they kept it a secret. Yeshiva boys are very idealistic and extreme.”
A Chabad rabbi, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some students have obtained visas from the holy city of Safed, Israel, which is considered the birthplace of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism).
The controversy surrounding the secret construction project exploded earlier this week when community members discovered the tunnel and brought in cement workers to fill it. On Monday, the NYPD was called and a chaotic scene erupted after some students tried to block construction. Prevent workers from entering the tunnel. Nine men, aged between 19 and 21, were arrested on charges of criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
“Shortly ago, a group of extremist students broke through several walls of the property adjacent to the synagogue at 784-788 Eastern Parkway, giving them unauthorized access,” said Rabbi Motti, a Chabad-Lubavitch spokesperson. Seligson said in a statement to the paper. Tuesday's post. He later did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
As a result, leaders will stop sponsoring educational visas that allowed international students to attend the Brooklyn yeshiva, said a Chabad rabbi who spoke on condition of anonymity..
“They are fanatics,” said the Chabad rabbi. “They are part of a small, extreme group. Chabad's concept is to be kind to everyone, and we are kind to them, but we never thought for a second that they would cause such problems. It was a big mistake to let them into the community. The school plans to terminate their visas in the future.”
Chabad rabbis told the Post that the students are fulfilling a religious commitment to Lubavitcher Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schnierson, also known as the “Rebbe.” Schnierson had vowed to expand the sect's synagogue in 1988, six years before his death.
Schneelson, who is buried in Montefiore Cemetery in Springfield Gardens, Queens, known as Ohel, is seen by some members of the Chabad community as the savior of the Jewish people. Argentina's next president, Javier Miele, visited the cemetery days after the November election.
The Rebbe, as he is known to followers of the Chabad movement, was born in Ukraine and became one of the most important Jewish leaders of the 20th century. He fled the war in Europe and settled in New York in 1941, building a worldwide network of thousands of schools and community centers.
Radical students believe that salvation will come if they carry out his command to expand the group's most sacred sites.
Some people are so fanatical that they have been known to destroy plaques at Chabad headquarters. The plaque read Schneerson as “Blessed Memory” (a Hebrew title for the dead). Some extremists believe that the Rebbe is still the living Messiah.
Now, the tunnels have exposed deep divisions within the Salvationist movement and brought unwanted attention to a very insular community, one expert told the Post.
“The image of Israelis coming to Brooklyn to build illegal tunnels is terrible,” says Alan Nadler, a former rabbi and professor emeritus of comparative religion/Jewish studies at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. “These Israeli army-age boys should join the forces destroying Hamas tunnels. It all looks a little crazy.”
