Thanks for noting this is a new “blood libel”! What you didn’t explain is anything about the tunnel itself. Is there an actual tunnel? If there is, where does it lead to? Who built it and for what purpose? It feels as if half the article is missing. If the tunnel doesn’t exist, maybe a sentence that states “There is no tunnel”? Seems like that one statement could really clear up this new “blood libel” for once and for all.
-The students wanted to dig the tunnel to expand the synagogue as fulfillment of a religious promise to Rebbe Schneerson
-The students were Israelis in Brooklyn on visas; those visas are being revoked
-They started out by digging themselves and bringing the dirt out in their pockets
-They ended up hiring a bunch of Mexican laborers who they put up in an abandoned adjacent building
Best party of the Post article:
“The image of Israelis coming to Brooklyn to build illegal tunnels looks terrible,” said Allan Nadler, a retired rabbi and professor of comparative religion/Jewish studies emeritus at Drew University in Madison, NJ. “These Israeli army-aged boys should be in the army demolishing Hamas tunnels. It all looks a little crazy.”
I agree with Mr. Nadler up until the part where he says they should be going to war. That’s their decision not his and no one should ever be shamed or pressured into going to war. How many men (and women of course, but let’s be real) have died throughout history because they were forced to go to war?
It's sort of an inside politics dig, Douglas, which doesn't make as much sense in the American context. The US has an all-volunteer army, but in Israel everybody must do service, except Haredi Jews and Yeshiva students.
Nadler is a critic of the Hasidim in particular (Hasidim is a subset of Haredi, which is a subset of Orthodox). He was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi, but moved to the Conservative side as years went by, and for him to make a crack about Hasidic Israeli youth evading military service by studying holy tunnel-digging in Brooklyn is not surprising.
It’s not bad enough the world seems to be turning against Jews, endless sniping of Reform and Conservative Jews against the Chabad Hasidim is desultory and hurts all Jews.
Yes, there are not enough actual facts in the article. I’m still not sure that there is a real tunnel there; one needs special equipment to build it, it can’t be done in secret by a small group of supposedly deranged young men. It’s the tunnel aspect that made this story news as tunnels are so evocative of palestinian doings at the moment.
Dr. Mr. David, Have you tried digging in NewYork? The geological makeup is mostly granite. You need quite a bit of hefty and noisy equipment. A few hasidim with jewelry trade tools won't quite do.
Actually, this is pretty much exactly what I knew about the Brooklyn synagogue tunnel. This is pretty much what the NY Times printed, minus some hyperbolic adjectives.
It's unsurprising that the darker reaches of the internet have weirdos saying weird things, but who goes looking for such people?
And I'm not going to believe the Rebbe is still alive like Tupac until he releases a diss track.
It's interesting how antisemitism and QAnon converge in people's minds. Antisemitism dictates the evil, space laser's owning, Jews are up to no good. QAnon dictates that it is somehow related to an underworld of pedophiles. Then, viola, I see pictures on X of Jews carrying babies through tunnels, many of such photos being posted by American Muslims. Shocking.
You know it's BS when it's clear ideology, and it follows a familiar script. Nobody accused the Jews of running drugs through the tunnels or guns or that young men were trying to peep on the ladies in the mikvah. One early theory I heard about the tunnel was that it was so people could sneak in during the COVID lockdowns. That actually sounds logical.
But nope, it's evil Jews and child sex trafficking because why not?
Yesterday, a light burned out in my son's room. I told my wife I blamed the Jews. She said, "What?" I said, "it's about as logical as any of the other claims about Jews."
You promised that everything I had heard was wrong and then you proceeded to explain to me exactly what I had heard. I’ve never heard anyone claim anything about child sex trafficking or weird rituals. Everyone I hear is saying that an orthodox faction of the Jewish community was expanding this synagogue without permits and into other properties and public easements.
When I read the NYT article, it seemed strange to me that it was on the front page of my app. With all the news about tunnels in Gaza, this seemed like some weird, purposeful diversion.
Why isn’t there any coverage or investigation, or at least true reporting, about how Chabad is a messianic movement with an actual dead rabbi whom they believe is the messiah and an arguably cult-like outreach program? It’s an interesting subject, it’s growing, I’ve seen too many friends become caught up in it, and I’d like to learn more about it.
Thanks for noting this is a new “blood libel”! What you didn’t explain is anything about the tunnel itself. Is there an actual tunnel? If there is, where does it lead to? Who built it and for what purpose? It feels as if half the article is missing. If the tunnel doesn’t exist, maybe a sentence that states “There is no tunnel”? Seems like that one statement could really clear up this new “blood libel” for once and for all.
The NY Post has the most detailed article so far:
https://nypost.com/2024/01/11/news/orthodox-jewish-students-used-migrant-labor-for-secret-tunnel/
Key points:
-The students wanted to dig the tunnel to expand the synagogue as fulfillment of a religious promise to Rebbe Schneerson
-The students were Israelis in Brooklyn on visas; those visas are being revoked
-They started out by digging themselves and bringing the dirt out in their pockets
-They ended up hiring a bunch of Mexican laborers who they put up in an abandoned adjacent building
Best party of the Post article:
“The image of Israelis coming to Brooklyn to build illegal tunnels looks terrible,” said Allan Nadler, a retired rabbi and professor of comparative religion/Jewish studies emeritus at Drew University in Madison, NJ. “These Israeli army-aged boys should be in the army demolishing Hamas tunnels. It all looks a little crazy.”
I agree with Mr. Nadler up until the part where he says they should be going to war. That’s their decision not his and no one should ever be shamed or pressured into going to war. How many men (and women of course, but let’s be real) have died throughout history because they were forced to go to war?
It's sort of an inside politics dig, Douglas, which doesn't make as much sense in the American context. The US has an all-volunteer army, but in Israel everybody must do service, except Haredi Jews and Yeshiva students.
Nadler is a critic of the Hasidim in particular (Hasidim is a subset of Haredi, which is a subset of Orthodox). He was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi, but moved to the Conservative side as years went by, and for him to make a crack about Hasidic Israeli youth evading military service by studying holy tunnel-digging in Brooklyn is not surprising.
It’s not bad enough the world seems to be turning against Jews, endless sniping of Reform and Conservative Jews against the Chabad Hasidim is desultory and hurts all Jews.
Yes, there are not enough actual facts in the article. I’m still not sure that there is a real tunnel there; one needs special equipment to build it, it can’t be done in secret by a small group of supposedly deranged young men. It’s the tunnel aspect that made this story news as tunnels are so evocative of palestinian doings at the moment.
You can too dig a tunnel with simple tools and hide it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Papago_Escape
Dr. Mr. David, Have you tried digging in NewYork? The geological makeup is mostly granite. You need quite a bit of hefty and noisy equipment. A few hasidim with jewelry trade tools won't quite do.
Actually, this is pretty much exactly what I knew about the Brooklyn synagogue tunnel. This is pretty much what the NY Times printed, minus some hyperbolic adjectives.
It's unsurprising that the darker reaches of the internet have weirdos saying weird things, but who goes looking for such people?
And I'm not going to believe the Rebbe is still alive like Tupac until he releases a diss track.
It's interesting how antisemitism and QAnon converge in people's minds. Antisemitism dictates the evil, space laser's owning, Jews are up to no good. QAnon dictates that it is somehow related to an underworld of pedophiles. Then, viola, I see pictures on X of Jews carrying babies through tunnels, many of such photos being posted by American Muslims. Shocking.
You know it's BS when it's clear ideology, and it follows a familiar script. Nobody accused the Jews of running drugs through the tunnels or guns or that young men were trying to peep on the ladies in the mikvah. One early theory I heard about the tunnel was that it was so people could sneak in during the COVID lockdowns. That actually sounds logical.
But nope, it's evil Jews and child sex trafficking because why not?
Yesterday, a light burned out in my son's room. I told my wife I blamed the Jews. She said, "What?" I said, "it's about as logical as any of the other claims about Jews."
We both laughed.
You promised that everything I had heard was wrong and then you proceeded to explain to me exactly what I had heard. I’ve never heard anyone claim anything about child sex trafficking or weird rituals. Everyone I hear is saying that an orthodox faction of the Jewish community was expanding this synagogue without permits and into other properties and public easements.
When I read the NYT article, it seemed strange to me that it was on the front page of my app. With all the news about tunnels in Gaza, this seemed like some weird, purposeful diversion.
If there ever had to be a messiah, it had to be someone whose last name was Schneerson.
this is what gets air time around here? c'mon guys lol
The most dangerous people in this country, the press. The rank just below joe and his radical administration.
Why isn’t there any coverage or investigation, or at least true reporting, about how Chabad is a messianic movement with an actual dead rabbi whom they believe is the messiah and an arguably cult-like outreach program? It’s an interesting subject, it’s growing, I’ve seen too many friends become caught up in it, and I’d like to learn more about it.
Huge numbers of young people dying suddenly since 2021 is a conspiracy?
Sad.