A Brooklyn Supreme Court judge harshly criticized a group of Lubavitcher bochurim on Monday for their involvement in digging a secret tunnel beneath the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights. The case caused an international chillul hashem and led to widespread conspiracy theories across vast swaths of the internet.
“If these young gentlemen think they’re exercising power over this court, they are sadly mistaken,” Judge Adam Perlmutter said. “You’re a shame to your family. You’re a shame to the worldwide Chabad movement.”
Two bochurim had their cases adjourned, with charges to be dismissed if they avoid further trouble for six months. Others pleaded guilty to reduced criminal mischief charges, agreeing to pay $200 in restitution and to refrain from “destructive activity” at 770 for three years.
However, four bochurim refused plea deals and now face potential prison time, with one of them saying that “being banned from 770 for three years is worse than jail.”
The controversy erupted in January 2024 when police discovered the tunnel and confronted bochurim hiding inside. The students claimed they were fulfilling the vision of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who had called for expanding 770 before his petirah in 1994.
Judge Perlmutter dismissed the bochurim’s justification for their actions, saying, “If you want to expand 770, they know how to do it. You are a blemish on the Chabad movement.”
The plea agreements prevent further digging, and violations could result in stricter penalties, including a five-year ban from 770.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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19 Responses
Why is yeshiva world posting this? Who sent this to yeshiva world to post? What’s the agenda here?
Ps. Obviously there is widespread understanding in Chabad that 770 needs to be expanded. Some bachurim took things in their own hands and did nothing good for the cause (to say the least). This should not distract from the reality that 770 is way to small and most be expanded. The self serving “leaders” who are blocking the expansion should get out of the way. There are times throughout the year that the crowd is so packed that its pashut sakonas nefashois. What are we waiting for? another Maron ch”v? Those blocking the proper expansion will be to blame if/when a disaster occurs R”L!
A group of 8-9 deranged teenagers. I don’t understand why they weren’t overwhelmed by the community. Are the Lubavitchers so pacifist and unreactive?! Digging a tunnel from 770 to Israel is an idea that only the deranged can create.
Time to appointment an 8th Lubavitcher Rebbe, & dictum of יפתח בדורו כשמואל בדורו is the way השם runs the world, so roll with the punches Chabad, and everyone shall be far better off [including the נשמות of the 1st 7 Rebbes]
They came out of the digging pretty clean. The Rebbe must have given them “kvitzas haderech”.
Oh, Boruch Hashem YWN is reposting these videos, just in case the internet has forgotten about them.
Also, where are the videos of the violent fights in Ponevezh? I don’t remember that being covered on YWN, even though it was all over Israeli news…
Please explain why the “leadership” doesn’t want to expand?
The writing on their yarmulke is a bigger chillul Hashem.
I’m very confused
We just finished reading
כלי חמס מכרתיהם
I’m sure they can get a tunnel-digging job by Hamas now that we’re gonna let win again.
B”H
For those who don’t know it.
There are two sides that claims that they own the 770 building. So until we don’t have this resolved we will never be able to expand 770. These bochurim had the idea of doing on its own. Of course, we see that it was not a good idea looking at the results.
Now, whoever will tell me that I can’t say that the Rebbe is alive, this person should go learn some Torah, he probably learnes only some dapim of Gemorah and forgot the rest. Since I am his follower, and I take all my decisions in life based on His teachings, then yes He’s alive for me and, to whoever do the same to be a chossid of The Rebbe. Since I follow him, and he’s alive to me, so there’s no difference between before Guimel Tammuz and after Guimel Tammuz. I still believe he is Moshiach.
This discussion can go for years. So,
I really hope we manage to put differences aside and be Zoche to have Moshiach here in the Beis Hamikdosh Hashlishi with full Ahavas Yisroel now!
The fact that you’re posting these videos and the picture and thus spreading Loshon Hara (or Motzi Shem Ra if the boys in the headline picture aren’t the actual ones who were charged) is a Chillul Hashem as well.
To all those discussing ponevezh, search it, it was on ywn, now can someone please explain to me why these people are still included in Chabad??? Any normal chassidus would have long kicked them out, the answer clearly is there is no rebbe, hence no order in crown heights or 770, and just a pile of nutjobs, it just comes to show how right מרן ראש הישיבה הרב הגאון רבי אמ”מ שך זצ”ל was, these people are not Jews, nothing more to say!
menachem- thats because what happened in ponevezh reflected badly on the torah world
weneedmoshiachnow- are you telling literally every gadol in the world who say the rebbe is dead and not moshiach to go learn some torah?
So we finally have a Chillul Chabad being codified into legal jurisprudence.
@Menachem Shmei,
Please don’t start your senseless rants again like last year. Grow up and own up that some of your ppl are animals. And yes YWN did cover the Ponevezh incident.
@weneedmoshiachnow,
Can we please make a $1,000 bet if the rebbe is Moshiach not too much you know quite simple bet (if you’re so sure let’s do this I’m down- ask YWN for my email and keep in touch).
There is nothing to blemish. 250 years old cult pretending to be religious Jews has always behaved this way. Often quite במסירת נפש
@weneedmoshiachnow
the word Mashiach in Hebrew means anointed(with oil), as we all know and agree:
1) The mashiach will be a Jewish king from Dovid Hamelech’s offspring
2) the process of becoming a Jewish king is by being anointed with shemen hamishcha by a Navi
3) since we dont have neviim nowadays, in order for an individual to become Mashiach they need to be mashuach by Eliyahu Hanavi
4) since there is no evidence that your Rebbe was anointed with Shemen Hamishcha by Eliyahu Hanavi then your claims are baseless and senseless
5) there is a mesorah (and well know maaseh with the Chida) that says that in each generation a potential mashiach is born however it is only actualized if the generation is zoche (there are many examples in chazal of potential mashiachs, however unfortunately none of those opportunities panned out)
6) perhaps your rebbe was the neshama of mashiach and perhaps not, because we dont have ruach hakodesh there’s no way we can know, but even if he was – there is no real nafka mina
7) A Jew has the obligation to be Metzapeh l’yeshuah, in practical terms that means we need to hope that Eliyahu Hanavi comes and anoints someone (who is alive today) to be our king & he will be “Mashiach”. If we can choose a Mashiach from the dead then I say let’s choose Chizkiyahu (the Gemara says that Hashemwanted to choose him)
8) The Mashiach wont necessarily be the biggest tzaddik or biggest talmid chochom, simply put he will be God’s chosen one to be the King of Klal Yisroel. According to many opinions he will die like a normal person and only afterwards will come the time of techiyas hameisim (this point is debated amongst the Rishonim, but as the Rambam says – there’s no real toeles in being osek in these things, time will tell what Hashem has in plan)
9) I dont think it’s by accident that there’s a lot of unknowns in this topic, Hashem purposefully blocked Yaakov Avinu & Daniel from being megaleh the Keitz, one of the reasons is to give tremendous schar to klal yisroel for having emunah, & following Hashem wherever he leads us even if we don’t know much about the destiny he has in mind for us
10) trying to assert definitive narratives or details into our emunah takes away from our temimus
@yechezkel18, well said
@ard, not sure what your first point is, but I hope your not trying to say that ponevezh wasn’t reported because it’s a yeshivishe thing, cos that’s true, and it was a fight in the oilom hatorah, not saying it was right in any way, but it was a fight for Torah, in no way was this Chabad chillul hashem anything to do with Torah!!!!