Brooklyn, New York – Riots and arrests took place in the Orthodox Jewish stronghold of Crown Heights on Monday, stemming from the closure of “secret tunnels” found underneath the world headquarters of the hyper-Zionist “Chabad-Lubavitch” movement.

According to reports, the riots began after officers with the New York Police Department were called in response to a group of orthodox “students” sabotaging an attempt to fill in a series of secret hand-dug tunnels with concrete, located underneath the infamous Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway.

On social media, dozens of videos were circulated that depicted orthodox Jewish men scurrying from manholes and clashing with police. Inside, they can be seen ripping down wood paneling, chanting and arguing with cops, overturning furniture, and violently protesting while an ominous hole in the earth can be seen in the background.

According to CrownHeights.Info, a total of 10 Jews were arrested in the aftermath of the incident, which has since been described as “deeply distressing” by Rabbi Motti Seligson, the media director for Chabad-Lubavitch. He claims the tunnels were started by a rogue group of “extremist students” from adjacent properties who wanted exclusive access to the synagogue.

Chabad-Lubavitch—considered the fastest-growing and most influential form of Judaism—is a globe-spanning religious sect with deep strategic, financial, and spiritual support of Israel and its various heads of state. It’s late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson once blessed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asked him to “hasten the arrival” of the Messiah by defeating its regional enemies in combat.

According to reports, the tunnels in Crown Heights were originally discovered by a construction crew back in December under a mikvah—a Jewish cleansing bath. When serious concerns were raised over the structural stability of nearby buildings, Lubavitch chiefs decided to close the women’s section until further notice.

“Earlier, a cement truck was brought in to repair those walls, Seligson said on X, formerly Twitter. “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. They have since been arrested and the building closed pending a structural safety review.”

In an official statement, the Chairman of the Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters, Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, called the actions of the tunnel diggers “odious” and thanked the NYPD for arresting those tied to “vandalism.”

“The Chabad-Lubavitch community is pained by the vandalism of a group of young agitators who damaged the synagogue below Chabad Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway Monday night,” the statement read. “These odious actions will be investigated, and the sanctity of the synagogue will be restored. Our thanks to the NYPD for their professionalism and sensitivity. We are grateful for the outpouring of concern, and for the support of our Chabad-Lubavitch institutions around the world.”

The bizarre footage and equally alarming discovery of secret tunnels underneath one of New York City’s most controversial neighborhoods have raised questions as to what purpose they ultimately served. While several explanations have been offered—including a demand by the students to expand the shul—the incident appears to revolve around a murky legal battle to determine the true owners of the property, commonly referred to in the Orthodox community as “770.”

Per the Jewish Chronicle, 770 was once the home of the Chabad Movement’s infamous Rabbi Yosef Yizchock Schneerson. The building now serves as a mecca for Orthodox Jews worldwide. The legal battle over its ownership is believed to be between two factions, one of which originates from Israel, and believes that the late “Rebbe” is the prophesized Jewish messiah.

A lawsuit hatched in 2006 determined that the Chabad-Lubavitch movement were the true owners of the property, but the Israel-based messianic Jews appear to actively deny the judgment and view 770 as their temple.

According to White civil rights activist, Mike Peinovich— who has lifelong ties to the New York City area—the discovery of the tunnels reflects a “typical Jewish attitude.”

“From what I can make out there is an internal dispute among this community of religious extremists over expanding their temple,” said Peinovich in a request for comment by the Justice Report. “Some within the group that believe that their Rebbe, Mendel Schneerson, was in fact the Messiah, engaged in their own building expansion project without regard to laws, building codes or the rights of other property owners and the public.”

“This reflects a typical Jewish attitude that the world belongs to them and the rest of us are just here to serve them. This attitude also explains the lack of regard for the property and lives of the Palestinian people and the relentless illegal expansion and occupation of Palestine by the Jews,” he continued.

Meanwhile, conservatives and other right-wing influencers used the opportunity to play into sinister conspiracy theories, alluding to child trafficking and rape dungeons after video of the tunnels revealed children’s feeding chairs and stained mattresses could be seen in the footage.

While the claims appear baseless, allegations of child sex abuse at the hands of Orthodox Jews are not uncommon. In a 2013 article published on Vice, fundamentalist Jewish communities like Chabad-Lubavitch were once described as “Child-Rape Assembly Lines.” Graphic first-hand accounts of abuse were then provided by Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg, who, during a trip to Jerusalem, allegedly witnessed the rape of a young boy inside a Mikvah ritual bath chamber.

“This reflects a typical Jewish attitude that the world belongs to them and the rest of us are just here to serve them. This attitude also explains the lack of regard for the property and lives of the Palestinian people and the relentless illegal expansion and occupation of Palestine by the Jews.”

Mike Peinovich, Activist

“I opened a door that entered into a schvitz. Vapors everywhere, I can barely see, said Rosenberg in an interview with Vice. “My eyes adjust, and I see an old man, my age, long white beard, a holy-looking man, sitting in the vapors. On his lap, facing away from him, is a boy, maybe seven years old. And the old man is having anal sex with this boy.”

“This boy was speared on the man like an animal, like a pig, and the boy was saying nothing. But on his face—fear,” he continued.

Rosenberg’s story would prove to be just one of many instances of alleged child rape inside the Jewish extremist movement. According to a lawsuit, one of Chabad’s most prominent members and creator of the now-iconic “brass menorah,” Hirschel Pekkar, sexually abused a 5-year-old girl.

In 2023, the head of the Boro Park Shomrim—a religious purity police composed of Orthodox Jews operating in southwest Brooklyn—pled guilty to trafficking a 15-year-old girl with the “intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.”

“Throughout the abuse, the defendant instructed the victim to delete their communications and warned her not to tell anyone about their sexual relationship,” read a statement by the Department of Justice. “The defendant also used his position as a leader in their community to quiet the victim, bragging about his connections to law enforcement and warning her that it would ruin her life if she told anyone about their relationship.”

The discovery of secret Jewish-dug tunnels underneath New York City neighborhoods comes amid a worsening geopolitical situation for Israel, currently engaged in a bloody and explosive “genocide” in Gaza. In December of 2023, the Palestinian death toll officially surpassed 20,000, after unrepentant bombing of largely civilian targets continues to rock Gaza into 2024. In January, the Muslim world blamed Israel and the United States for a deadly terror bombing of a funeral in Iran which killed over one hundred innocent people.

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