Protesters defend kids in fake blood

Protesters are defending a demonstration in which children lay in "bloodstained" clothing in Wellington's Civic Square.

Two hundred people protested yesterday against Israel's actions in Gaza and the New Zealand Government's stance on the conflict.

About 100 people wrapped in fake bloodstained bandages and clothing, including young children, lay down in the square while a drum beat 844 times to symbolise the 831 Palestinians and 13 Israelis killed in the month-long conflict.

Wellington Regional Jewish Council chairman David Zwartz said the use of children in political protests was wrong.

"What do these children know of the politics involved?"

The children's presence was manipulative and an infringement of their rights.

Organiser Adrian Leason said children were never too young to foster compassion.

"You don't have to spend long with them to realise that sense starts evolving at a very young age."

Mr Leason's son Mana, 6, who was at the rally, was born in a Thailand slum where the Leasons worked on a development project.

"He and his five brothers and sisters have all been exposed to some of the struggles that boys and girls in this world are forced to endure every day," Mr Leason said.

Cat Noakes-Duncan, whose seven-month-old daughter Tessa wore a red-stained headband, said it was not inappropriate that children attended the rally.

"[Tessa] is too young to know what it's all about, obviously, but it's good for older kids to be able to engage in an appropriate way ... I didn't see any children who looked scared or frightened."

Ms Noakes-Duncan said families had come together to show their grief for all the dead in Gaza.

"This is something that is affecting all of us, including children, and to try and pretend they are not affected by war is silly when you see pictures of children next to their murdered parents."