Brooklyn synagogue tunnel: Jewish man regrets his viral video thread fuelled 'antisemitic propaganda'

David, an X user with handle @FrumTikTok, told Fox News that he had no idea that his post on Brooklyn synagogue would fuel antisemitic conspiracies.

Amid massive surge in antisemitic incidents across the United States, a secret tunnel was discovered at the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York City, which serves as the center of an influential Hasidic Jewish movement.

Hasidic men and boys gather outside of the Chabad-Lubavitch global headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn where a secret tunnel was recently discovered on January 12, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images via AFP)

Before the underground tunnel connected to historic Brooklyn synagogue became a national news, a video thread appeared on a social media platform, showing a brawl between extremist Orthodox Hasidic students and the New York City Department (NYDP).

Following this, several videos and posts surfaced on social media with baseless claims about the passage and conspiracy theories about child sacrifices and human trafficking networks. Some of the posts were even laced with antisemitism.

David says he had no clue that his post would fuel antisemitic conspiracies

In an interview to Fox News, David, an X user with handle @FrumTikTok, said that he had no idea that his post would fuel antisemitic conspiracies and spiral into personal threats against him.

"I started a thread with videos and a brief explanation of what was going on. I thought it was a small story, and maybe a few people would be interested, but lo and behold, it took off like crazy," he said.

"I shut my phone off for the night and when I woke up, the thread had over 50 million combined views, and the news media was starting to report the story."

According to David, those absurd notions were propagated as truths on social media and utilised as antisemitic propaganda.

On January 9, he decided to delete the entire thread as the threats and hate went out of control. "I will NOT allow my account to be used by antisemitic Jew haters to promote their pathetic hatred of religious Jews," he stated in a post on X.

Urging the world to unite against antisemitism and hate, David stressed: "A world that has no place for Jews and Israel, has no place for humanity. Every good person will suffer in the end. So all good people must unite to win this war."

He further urged X to take strict measures to not allow disgusting antisemitic conspiracy theories on the social media platform.

Antisemitic incidents, involving harassment and vandalism, in the United States have more than tripled between October 7, 2023 and January 7, according to new Anti-Defamation League (ADL) preliminary data.

Brooklyn synagogue tunnel was built without permits

The 60 feet long illegal tunnel -- dug under the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights -- was inadequately fortified and jeopardised structural integrity of two buildings, NY Times reported.

Suspect in NYC stabbings eerily smiled at first victim after random attack: ‘Turned to look at me’

According to New City building inspectors, the tunnel was constructed without approval or permits.

Earlier in January, a Jewish youth staged a protest when the leader of the group tried to seal it off. The protest gradually escalated as police moved in to make arrests. The officials stated that young men in the community recently built the passage to the sanctuary in secret.

The Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters is a highly respected Jewish facility that welcomes thousands of visitors annually, including religious leaders and international students.