How a secret tunnel in synagogue led to brawl between police, worshippers

A historic Brooklyn synagogue that serves as the centre of an influential Hasidic Jewish movement was trashed this week during an unusual community dispute that began with the discovery of a secret underground tunnel and ended in brawl between worshippers and police.

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The conflict erupted in the global headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement in Crown Heights, a deeply revered Jewish site that each year receives thousands of visitors, including international students and religious leaders.

But on Tuesday, the synagogue remained closed off by police barricades as New York City building safety agents.

inspected whether a tunnel dug without official permission may have caused structural damage to the famed property.

Officials and locals said young men in the community recently built the passage to the sanctuary in secret. When the group's leaders tried to seal it off on Monday, they staged a protest that turned violent as police moved in to make arrests.