The Brazilian federal police have recently raided the Pentecostal Generation Jesus Christ Church in Rio de Janeiro after its pastor and congregants appeared to pray for another Holocaust.
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The anti-Semitic incident took place last year, when Pastor Tupirani da Hora Lores was recorded screaming in front of his worshippers, "Massacre the Jews, God. Beat them with your sword because they abandoned you. They went with prostitutes when they were told to return to you. They said they would do so but lied. God, you have to do the same thing you did during WWII again."
The video circulated the internet and drew outrage and criticism from Jewish organizations and individuals worldwide.
The Jewish communities in Brazil reported the anti-Semitic incident to the police, which in turn took action that resulted in the raid.
Ricardo Sidi, a lawyer at the Jewish Association of Brazil, told Israel Hayom that the community felt relieved when the matter was handled by the police and that the pastor was facing 2-5 years in prison. During the raid, police confiscated materials to use in its investigation against da Hora.
"Freedom of expression is crucial in any society, but a line must be drawn when it comes to hate speech," he said. "To claim time again that Jews cannot be trusted, speaking out harshly against homosexuals and Indians [which the pastor did], may shift other people's perception of them. We have to learn the lessons of history."
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