Secret tunnel in NYC synagogue leads to brawl between police and worshippers

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A group of Hasidic Jewish worshippers were arrested amid a dispute over a secret tunnel built beneath a historic Brooklyn synagogue, setting off a brawl between police and those who tried to defend the makeshift passageway. Video from the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Crown Heights on Monday showed officers removing a man from a tunnel built into the synagogue when a group of onlookers begin shoving police and tossing wooden desks. A spokesperson for Chabad said a “group of extremist students” had broken through the walls of adjacent properties and Monday’s stand-off began after leadership brought in a construction crew to repair the damage. It wasn’t immediately clear why or when the tunnel was constructed.