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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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Video that shows what appears to be a stained mattress being removed from a secret tunnel under a Jewish community center in New York, or the area around its entrance, has gone viral on social media, sparking wild speculation and in some cases antisemitic conspiracy theories.
On Monday afternoon, police made 10 arrests after clashing with a group of men in the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters, 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, that was reportedly trying to prevent an unauthorized tunnel linked to the building from being filled in.
A New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson told Newsweek that "a group of individuals unlawfully entered" the building by damaging a wall, with the Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters condemning the "odious actions" and pledging an investigation.
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Footage initially posted on TikTok by user Shita Hakdosha showed a number of men tearing paneling from a wall in the complex, with a smaller group in what appears to be the hidden tunnel behind the wall. At one point, a noticeably stained rectangular object, which appeared to be a mattress, was removed either from the tunnel or from the area around its entrance where the paneling had been torn down.
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Later in the video, police attempt to clear the room in tense scenes, during which they are heckled by those inside. The four-minute, 18-second clip was republished on X, formerly Twitter, by an anonymous user, racking up more than 2.3 million views and receiving about 3,000 reposts.
The anonymous X user who posted the video added: "Is that A STAINED MATTRESS PULLED FROM A SECRET TUNNEL BEHIND A SYNAGOGUE WALL in NYC????"
Newsweek has reached out to the NYPD by telephone and email, along with the Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters by email, for comment.
Some on X baselessly claimed the mattress was evidence of human trafficking, a common antisemitic trope that has been targeted at Jews for generations, or by comparing it to the tunnel network Hamas is known to have constructed under Gaza.
On October 7 Hamas militants used these tunnels to help conduct a surprise attack on southern Israel that left about 1,200 people dead, predominantly civilians, and saw another 240 taken to Gaza as hostages.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the director of the Anti-Defamation League, which was formed to combat antisemitism, told Rolling Stone he was very concerned by the online disinformation.
"It's deeply troubling that anyone would use this incident, which the Chabad movement at large has strongly condemned, to draw inappropriate and false comparisons to Hamas tunnels in Gaza or propagate age-old antisemitic conspiracy theories, such as Jews are involved in human trafficking or organ harvesting," he said.
Shortly after the incident, a statement was released by the Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters condemning those behind the disorder and expressing support for the police.
It said: "The Chabad-Lubavich community is pained by the vandalism of a group of young agitators who damaged the synagogue below Chabad Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway Monday night.
"These odious actions will be investigated, and the sanctity of the synagogue will be restored. Our thanks to the NYPD for their professionalism and sensitivity."
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