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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Teaneck, NJ - WiFi signal with racist, anti-Semitic slur sparks police probe

WiFi signal with racist, anti-Semitic name, sparks bias probe in Teaneck, N.J.

A bigot named their WiFi signal “F--- All Jews and N----” — and now cops are investigating.

The hateful signal I.D. popped up on the iPhone of a 28-year-old mom inside a Teaneck, N.J. recreation center, where her 3-year-old daughter was attending dance class.

The offending signal was coming from a router connected in the Richard Rodda Community Center in the the township, located 10 miles outside New York City.

"When I first saw it, I said, 'Did that say what I thought it said?," said the woman, who asked that her name not be used.

“I was shocked, hurt. I felt harassed."

The signal showed on her phone as it searched for an Internet connection in the center Tuesday.

"I felt like I'm bringing my daughter to this place, and it should be a safe place," she said.

The woman, who is African-American, rushed to the office, and informed employees and other parents of the hateful WiFi connection.

Police were called, and when they responded they located the router in the rec center, township Police Chief Robert Wilson said.

Police received similar complaints about the signal Friday during a "teen night" event at the center, the woman said she was told.

The Teaneck Police Department Juvenile Bureau and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Computer Crime Unit are investigating it as a "possible bias crime," Wilson said.

"I hope that the person responsible for this is caught,” the woman who reported the signal said.

“This should not be tolerated in this town. They should see jail time for it," the mom of two said.

Township Mayor Mohammed Hameeduddin called news of the rec center incident "deeply disturbing."

He noted recent attacks in Bergen County against the Jewish community.

"It's very disheartening that someone would put that out there. I was very concerned about these things coming to Teaneck."

He said the town has stepped up patrols to prevent hate crimes in the township, and vowed to track down the culprit.

"We're going to work hard to find out who did it," said Hameeduddin, who became the first Muslim mayor of the town in 2010. "I don't know if this is organized."

Township Councilwoman Lizette Parker heard about the WiFi signal last night while at the recreation center.

"It's appalling to me," said Parker, who is black. "It's horrifying to me that a person could hate a group of people so much that they give that name to their router. It's very troublesome. We need to get to the bottom of this."

The community center is located in the center of the township, near the local high school and a large park.

Teaneck, known for its diversity, was the first community to voluntarily integrate its public schools in the 1960s.

The township website bills the suburban town as "one of New Jersey's most culturally diverse communities."

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