A celebrity stylist accused of making an anti-Semitic attack on a rabbi outside Manhattan's historic Chelsea Hotel has admitted to waving a bag at the rabbi during an argument but has denied using any derogatory language.
“I'm Jewish. I love the Jewish people. I love the Jewish people,” Alexander Yanik, 52, told The Daily Beast after Rabbi Cesky Wolf's accusations were reported in the paper. New York Post.
Speaking exclusively to The Daily Beast, Janick called the allegations “disrespectful” and “totally outrageous,” adding, “My grandmother was in Auschwitz.”
The confrontation between Janick and Wolf, partially witnessed by a Daily Beast reporter, unfolded outside the Chelsea Synagogue on West 23rd Street on Tuesday night.
Wolfe's account is that Yannick's dog, Hudson, ran towards the synagogue's open doors, and Yannick asked the owner to put the dog on a leash. Wolfe alleges that Yannick muttered “dirty Jew” before the owner began recording Hudson on his cell phone.
The video shows the rabbi handing over his iPhone and chasing Janick 10 yards down the street to the iconic hotel, where authors, artists and stars from Dylan Thomas to Bob Dylan have stayed and where Sid Vicious allegedly murdered Nancy Spungen in 1978.
The stylist, dressed casually in a white shirt, light blue chinos and loafers instead of pants, suddenly turned around and hit the rabbi over the head with his tote bag, knocking off his glasses and yarmulke.
Janik, a Polish immigrant, posts sporadically on his Instagram account pictures of himself with a surprising number of celebrities, as well as pro-Ukraine and pro-Palestine posts, but he tells a different story.
Interviewed at his home three blocks from the scene, he said the mayhem began when his golden retriever mix sought refuge in the shade outside the century-old Chabad synagogue, formally known as Congregation Emnas Israel, to escape the heat.
The rabbi reacted violently, he claimed.
“He opened the door and started yelling, 'Take this dog away…' and I said, 'I'm sorry, he just wanted to get some rest,'” Janick said.
“He asked me where I was from and I said, 'I'm from Poland.' He said, 'Polish! Get that motherfucker!' [he] “He started kicking me. Then he started pestering me on the phone and chasing me.”
“He follows me for no reason. [said] “'Excuse me, can I please?' And then he took the bag,” Yannick said, moving his arm as if swinging something around, “'Can you stop harassing me?'”
The rabbi, who has previously been sued by members of his own congregation, declined to be interviewed, but his lawyer, Cary London, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday that Rabbi Wolf did not hit the dog or use the derogatory term “Polish” during the confrontation.
“The rabbi categorically denies that he kicked the dog. He never kicked the dog,” London said, calling Janik's story a “false story.”
Wolf reportedly suggested to Yannick “maybe you should put your dog on a lead” and only started recording after the “dirty Jew” comment.
“Anti-Semitism hides behind closed doors,” London said, explaining why the rabbi wanted to record the scene: “The rabbi is the nicest man in the world.”
Police responded to the scene but no arrests were made. The NYPD said it could not confirm further details. London said the rabbi has filed a complaint and is scheduled to meet with the Manhattan district attorney's office next week.
But Wolf isn't trying to make a big fuss about the case, the lawyer said. “He doesn't want this to become a big deal,” he said.
Yannick said he was shocked when he found out about the incident in the newspaper the next day.
“Because this is not who I am, I’m a very good citizen. [an] “I have a great career, people love me, I’ve never had any problems,” he said. “I’m not against Jews. [people]It was very inappropriate and he was just against my dog.”
