Israeli leaders criticized a haredi Orthodox demonstration in which protesters wore yellow stars to indicate that they are being oppressed like the Jews in Nazi Germany.

More than 1,000 haredi protesters gathered in Jerusalem Dec. 31 to protest what they described as persecution against their way of life, including separation of the sexes.

Many of the protesters wore yellow stars with the word “Jude” and Holocaust imagery on them. Young children were brought to a makeshift stage wearing striped prison garb along with their yellow stars. One held up his hands in an imitation of a famous image from the Warsaw Ghetto. Protesters also shouted “Nazis” at police during the demonstration.

“Prisoner uniforms and yellow patches with the word ‘Jew’ written on them in German are shocking and appalling,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement. “The use of yellow patches and small children raising their hands in surrender crosses a red line which the ultra-Orthodox leadership, who are largely responsible people, must not accept.” — jta