A pro-Palestinian demonstration in Stockholm over the weekend drew sharp condemnation after protesters displayed a mock entrance gate modeled on the one at the Nazi German death camp Auschwitz, replacing its infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Sets You Free") inscription with the word "Gaza."

The display was erected during a protest calling for the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who has been held by Israel for about 18 months. Israeli authorities have previously alleged that Abu Safiya had ties to Hamas and published images they said showed him alongside senior members of the terrorist group. Abu Safiya's supporters deny the allegations and have called for his release.

Protesters also called for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a senior Palestinian political figure who led the Tanzim militia during the Second Intifada. Barghouti is serving five life sentences plus 40 years in an Israeli prison after being convicted of involvement in attacks that killed Israeli civilians. He has long denied direct responsibility for terrorism and remains a popular figure among many Palestinians.

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The demonstration also called for greater protection of Gaza's healthcare workers.

As part of the protest, demonstrators staged a performance depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu covered in blood, chasing Gazan mothers and babies beneath the mock gate before waving money. Protesters carried signs reading, "Doctors are not targets. Stop killing our doctors."

Police officers stood nearby but did not intervene.

The demonstration drew criticism from Israeli officials and Jewish organizations, who argued that using Holocaust imagery to depict the war in Gaza trivialized the Holocaust and crossed into antisemitism.

Sweden has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism, which includes "drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis" as an example that could, depending on the context, constitute antisemitism. Critics of the protest argued that the Auschwitz replica fell within that definition.

Israel's ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman, condemned the display.

"I am following with deep concern the recent antisemitic incidents in Sweden," he said. "Whether it is a Jewish doctor subjected to verbal abuse at work, reports of healthcare workers participating in demonstrations where antisemitic statements were heard, or yet another weekly demonstration distorting the Holocaust in ways that leave me shocked, the pattern is deeply troubling."

"How many more times can we condemn the same hatred?" he added. "When will those responsible understand that failing to act against incitement only emboldens those who spread it?"

The Official Council of Jewish Communities in Sweden also criticized the protest.

"Trivializing the Holocaust in the way it was done during the demonstration in Stockholm is profoundly offensive and deeply repugnant," said Aaron Verständig, the council's chairman.

Daniel Schatz, a Swedish-Jewish researcher, criticized the fact that the demonstration took place openly in front of police officers.

"It is particularly noteworthy that this is happening openly on the streets of Sweden, in full view of the police, without any visible intervention," Schatz said in comments published by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, an international advocacy organization. "How long will these outrages continue to become normalized before the responsible authorities and politicians pull the emergency brake?"