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 under a historic synagogue in Brooklyn.
The defendants, many of whom are international students from Israel, appeared in court in Brooklyn on Wednesday on charges of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and obstruction of governmental administration. They were given a limited protection order, which prevented them from carrying out any excavations or changes to the building. They are also not allowed to have contact with a local rabbi.
Prosecutors say the defendants — who ranged in age from 19 to 26 — were involved in a fight Jan. 8 in the basement of the global headquarters of Chabad-Lubavitch, a movement of Orthodox Judaism. The dispute erupted after the discovery of an underground passageway connecting four buildings within the famed Jewish complex.
Supporters of the tunnel said they were carrying out the wishes of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the former Chabad leader and one of Judaism’s most influential leaders, who spoke of expanding densely populated worship before his death in 1994. Some members of the Chabad community believe that Schneerson is still alive and that he is the Messiah.
When Chabad leaders took action to seal the tunnel, characterizing it as a villainous act of vandalism, a group of young men fought back, tearing the synagogue’s wooden siding and refusing to leave the dusty passageway. Their protest escalated when police arrived, leading to a chaotic scuffle and more than $1,500 in property damage, according to court records.
None of the men charged in the brawl were accused of digging the passage, which authorities described as a linear tunnel 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 when they 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 around the religious complex, leading to abandonment orders at four buildings.
A two-story building next to the synagogue is still under an evacuation order due to the removal of fire-separating materials, a building department spokesperson said.
An attorney for the defendants, Levi Huebner, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. He previously said his clients suffer from “a combination of a bit of naivete and unintentional good thoughts.”
Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesperson for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, said in a text message: “We pray that they will see the error of their ways and atone for the harm they have caused.”