A brawl between New York City police officers and a group of Hasidic Jewish students occurred January 8 after a cement truck arrived at the Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue to fill in an illegal tunnel, resulting in the arrest of nine individuals. The tunnel was constructed by a small group of yeshiva students for the alleged purpose of expanding the synagogue.

The tunnel was first reported to government officials in mid-December under the 770 Synagogue, which was pursued days later over concerns about building code violations and structural instability. Officials discovered a tunnel that branched out to four different buildings’ basements, totaling 60 feet in length. The entire tunnel was allegedly excavated in secrecy, with none of the leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch having knowledge of the yeshiva students’ plans.

The yeshiva students allege that they were taking action to expand the synagogue, against the wishes of the synagogue’s leadership. There has been contention over the leadership and possession of the synagogue for decades between distinct groups of Chabad-Lubavitch administrators and messianic groups, and the group of young students are thought to be agitators attempting to resolve the issue.

The incident has resulted in a surge of antisemitic theories regarding Hasidic Judaism and Judaism in general, ranging from the claim that the tunnels were dug for the purpose of human trafficking to the claim that they were dug to observe a women’s mikveh (the location of religiously required bathing). None of the allegations have credible evidence supporting them; however, the theories have gained traction on social media, garnering hundreds of thousands of likes. 

Much of the antisemitism that has come from the incident seems to originate in a lack of understanding about Hasidism. The yeshiva students are Chabad-Lubavitch, a very orthodox variation of Judaism. The forms of Judaism that most people follow today are far less orthodox, doing away with much of the mysticism and traditions that Hasidic Judaism focuses on. Regardless, the actions of the small group of yeshiva students are condoned neither by the Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue, nor by the Jewish community at large. Rather, the actions have been condemned for their destruction of the sanctity of the synagogue and the structural damage that they have caused for the synagogue and surrounding buildings.