NEW YORK — Thirteen members of the Hasidic Jewish community pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from their alleged role in a dispute over an illegal tunnel built beneath a historic Brooklyn synagogue.
The defendants, many of whom are Israeli international students, appeared in Brooklyn court on Wednesday on charges of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and obstructing governmental administration. They were given a limited protection order which prohibits them from carrying out any searches or alterations to the building. They also cannot be in contact with a local rabbi.
Prosecutors say the defendants – aged 19 to 26 – were involved in a Jan. 8 melee in the basement of the world headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch, a movement of Orthodox Judaism. The row erupted after the discovery of an underground passage connecting four buildings of the famous Jewish complex.
Supporters of the tunnel said they were carrying out the wishes of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a former leader of the Chabad movement and one of Judaism’s most influential leaders, who spoke before his death in 1994 about expanding the space of worship. very strong. The community believes that Schneerson is still alive and that he is the messiah.
When Chabad leaders moved to seal the tunnel, calling it an act of vandalism, a group of young men fought back, ripping off the synagogue’s wooden siding and refusing to leave the dusty passageway. Their protest escalated when police arrived, resulting in a chaotic fight and more than $1,500 in property damage, according to court documents.
None of the men charged in the fight have been accused of digging the passage, which authorities described as a linear tunnel measuring 60 feet (18.3 meters) long and 8 feet (2.4 meters) wide . In addition to the 13 people who pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, four others are expected to be charged upon their return from Israel in the coming weeks.
An investigation by the Ministry of Buildings found that the tunnel, which has since been filled with concrete, compromised the stability of several structures surrounding the religious complex, leading to the evacuation of four buildings.
A two-story building adjacent to the synagogue remains under an evacuation order due to the removal of fire-stopping materials, according to a Department of Buildings spokesperson.
The defendants’ attorney, Levi Huebner, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. He previously said his clients suffered from “a combination of a bit of naivety and ill-intentioned good thinking.”
Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesperson for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, said in a text message: “We pray that they see the error of their ways and atone for the harm they have caused.” »
ABC News
