The weekend of 20–21 June 2026: Scandal at police law protest, Jewish Week opens in Leipzig, top athletes in Dessau

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A demonstration against the new Saxon Police Act came to an unexpectedly abrupt end. However, the police themselves were not involved this time. Leipzig is celebrating its 17th Jewish Week. The official launch took place today at the New Town Hall. Many more opening ceremonies also took place in Dessau. The 28th Anhalt Meeting featured celebrities, records – and a few people from Leipzig too. The LZ summarises the key events from the weekend of 20–21 June 2026 in Leipzig and beyond.

Uproar at police law protest

Next Wednesday, 24 June, the Saxon State Parliament will vote on the amendment to the Saxon Police Act. With the (announced) votes of the CDU, SPD and BSW, it would secure the necessary majority. At its core, the bill concerns new technology and powers relating to automated data analysis, video surveillance, covert investigations and biometric searches. Critics fear this will lead to increased state surveillance and a further erosion of the rule of law.

Under the slogan “Stop the new Saxon Police Act!”, several hundred people therefore took to the streets in Leipzig on Saturday. The protest was organised by several left-wing groups, such as the action network “Leipzig nimmt Platz”, Copwatch Leipzig, Linxxnet and the legal aid collective BSG Chemie.

Demonstration against the new Saxon Police Act, 20 June 2026. Photo: Ferdinand Uhl

“History and the present day show time and again that police laws are never created for exceptional circumstances. They become the norm. Every new power remains in place. Every step towards surveillance pushes the boundaries of what can be said and done further to the right. In parallel with society’s shift to the right, a turnkey surveillance state is emerging — equipped with digital tools, data collections and preventive powers that can be deployed against political opponents at any time”, reads the call to demonstrate amongst other things. And: “We will not accept this!”

Following the start at Connewitzer Kreuz, the planned route for the demonstration was along Karl-Liebknecht-Straße to Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz – with a stop-off rally at Alexis-Schumann-Platz. However, even whilst this stop was taking place, the organisers announced that the demonstration would be ending early. “The march will not continue peacefully,” the organisers’ spokesperson warned during this announcement. “We simply want to go our separate ways here without getting into a conflict that has nothing to do with the issue at hand.”

Waving a Palestinian flag in defiance of the march’s consensus. Demonstration against the new Saxon Police Act, 20 June 2026. Photo: Ferdinand Uhl

The call to join the demonstration had already asked for a consensus not to “hijack the demonstration with national, organisational, regional or party flags”. However, this was not respected by all participants, as demonstrated, for example, by repeated chants of “Viva, viva Palestine!”, accompanied by the corresponding flag. “I find it absolutely sickening that there are people here who, by breaching the demonstration consensus, are preventing us from holding a cool, powerful, defiant demonstration against a law – a law that will affect us all,” said Juliane Nagel (Die Linke), a member of the state parliament, in her speech, clearly furious, whilst the demonstration’s intended impact gradually fizzled out.

Demonstration against the new Saxon Police Act, 20 June 2026. Photo: Ferdinand Uhl

17th Jewish Week officially opened at the New Town Hall

The 17th Jewish Week was officially opened this afternoon at the New Town Hall with a ceremony. In the Upper Foyer, Küf Kaufmann, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Jewish Religious Community of Leipzig, welcomed the approximately 150 people in attendance. He emphasised the great significance of Jewish life in Leipzig. He noted that the community was particularly proud of the forthcoming branch of the Yad Vashem Memorial in the city and regarded this as an important mission.

Welcoming addresses were also given by Dr Skadi Jennicke (Die Linke), the city’s Councillor for Culture, and Katrin Ihkilman from the Jewish Religious Community. Artists from Israel, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands provided the festive musical accompaniment.

Jewish Week in Leipzig is the central highlight of Saxony’s ‘Tacheles’ theme year and is organised by the City of Leipzig’s Cultural Office in collaboration with the Ariowitsch-Haus e. V. Cultural and Community Centre. Over 130 events, including concerts, readings, exhibitions and talks with eyewitnesses, are on the programme until 28 June. One of the highlights is the Jewish street music festival “Le Chaim”, which will bring the city to life tomorrow, Monday 22 June, between 3 pm and 6 pm in front of the Lion Fountain at the Naschmarkt. Click here for the programme booklet listing all events.

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Athletics spectacle in Dessau

There were very few participants from Leipzig at the 28th International Anhalt Meeting at the Paul-Greifzu-Stadion in Dessau. Still, in the junior preliminaries, two SC DHfK sprinters secured victories. Jeremy Weilandt triumphed in the U18 100 metres and Mia Besser in the U20 100 metres. However, the 19-year-old had already had her big moment the previous weekend: at the 32nd Bauhaus Junior Gala in Mannheim, she ran a new personal best of 23.78 seconds in the 200 metres and immediately met the qualifying standard for the U20 World Championships.

In the main programme, Rocco Martin (SG MoGoNo) shone for Leipzig in the 800 metres. He, too, was delighted to set a new personal best. His time of 1:47.81 minutes was enough for 7th place in the end. Earlier, multi-event athlete Lilly Empl (SC DHfK) had competed in the 100-metre hurdles, gaining valuable competitive experience against strong opposition with a time of 13.90 seconds (her PB stands at 13.67 seconds).

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However, the real stars on Friday evening in the Bauhaus city were other athletes. Long jumper Malaika Mihambo (LG Kurpfalz), for example. Despite back problems, the 2020 Olympic champion triumphed with a jump of 6.62 metres. Afterwards, she had plenty of requests for selfies and autographs to fulfil.

Two other German athletics stars still managed to secure second place. Gina Lückenkemper (SCC Berlin), who trains in the USA and is already an Olympic bronze medallist, finished second in the 100 metres behind Switzerland’s Salomé Kora. In the javelin throw, Thomas Röhler (LC Jena), the 2016 Olympic champion, finished behind South African Douw Smit with a throw of 78.04 metres.

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The icing on the cake of a successful meeting was provided by three new meeting records. However, these were set without any German participation. In the 100-metre hurdles, Rayniah Jones (USA) set a new record of 12.49 seconds. In the 400 metres, Mthi Mthimkulu (South Africa) followed suit with a time of 44.75 seconds. And Jordan Terrasse (France) also crossed the line in record time in the 800 metres, clocking 1:44.41 minutes.

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What the LZ reported on at the weekend:

50 years of Grünau: Nucleus living at WG Lipsia: a new lease of life for the WBS70 prefabricated housing estate

The threatened Capa Wood: Leipzig’s environmental organisations are calling for a demonstration on 25 June

Court of Auditors’ criticism of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG: The Greens criticise Saxony’s haphazard Finance Minister

Guest commentary by Christian Wolff: Peace? Or: How hypocrisy exposes itself

A dubious promise for the future: Does the Building Modernisation Act (GModG) deliver on its promises?

Eisen: The visually stunning autobiographical novel by the famous Sergei Eisenstein.

Do old gangsters never die? Frank Willmann’s true-crime novel ‘Balkanblut’.

Feasibility study on the Chemnitz–Leipzig railway line: Campaign groups see no solution for the overburdened route.

What else was important:

The Left party caused a stir with a controversial resolution at its federal party conference in Potsdam. By a large majority, the delegates passed a motion to officially designate Israel’s actions in the Gaza War as genocide. Furthermore, Luigi Pantisano and Ines Schwerdtner were elected as the new party leaders.

Deniz Undav, the nation’s super-sub, secured the German national football team’s group victory on Saturday evening. In the World Cup match against Ivory Coast, the VfB Stuttgart striker scored two goals (68’ and 90’+4) immediately after coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute, turning the match around to secure a 2–1 victory. Even before their final group match against Ecuador, the DFB side are now guaranteed to top their group. In the round of 32 on 29 June, they will face a third-placed team from Group A, B, C, D or F.

If Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) has his way, significantly more people are to be deported to Afghanistan in future. Under discussion are three charter flights per month, plus individual repatriations via scheduled flights. Negotiations on this matter have taken place between representatives of the Interior Ministry and the Islamist Taliban, who are in power in Afghanistan.