HUNDREDS of ultra-Orthodox Jews, some wearing yellow stars or the uniforms of Holocaust death camp inmates, have demonstrated against what they called media attacks against them over their efforts to segregate the sexes in public.

The bearded men and boys, in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood, were ostensibly gathered to protest against the jailing of a member of their community for leading vigilante attacks against a local religious bookshop, which was considered not religious enough by hardliners.

A child raises his hands in imitation of a famous picture from the Holocaust in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim enclave during a protest by ultra-Orthodox Jews. Credit:AFP

But ultra-Orthodox news website Kikar HaShabbat said the main purpose of the rally had become that of fighting back against ''incitement against the ultra-Orthodox public''.

During World War II, Jews in countries occupied by the Nazis were forced to wear yellow stars to identify themselves in public. Kikar HaShabbat said the wearing of them at the weekend rally was ''an exceptional protest measure''.