In Leipzig-Connewitz, several thousand leftists demonstrated against each other on Saturday, highlighting the divide in the scene over the Middle East conflict. The events remained mostly peaceful, except for one incident at a pro-Palestine demo. Police separated the groups and counted over 3000 participants in total.
The conflict between Israel and Palestine has divided Germany's leftist scene for years. On Saturday, various factions clashed in Leipzig, particularly around Connewitzer Kreuz. A demonstration under the motto "Antifa means: Free Palestine" drew around 1400 participants, called by the anti-Israeli group Handala, classified as extremist by the Verfassungsschutz. A spokesperson for the alliance told Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR): "We are demonstrating against the crimes of the state of Israel since its founding in the Middle East."
On the pro-Israel side, people gathered under mottos like "No peace with antisemites" and "All Connewitzer are beautiful." In total, more than 3000 participants were counted across all eight registered assemblies. Police deployed extensively to separate the groups spatially, taking measures for violations of the masking ban. Things remained largely calm until early evening.
However, at the "Free Palestine" demo, an incident occurred: An MDR TV team was followed by two individuals, security intervened, leading to a scuffle. A security staff member received an elbow strike to the face, as reported by an affected reporter to MDR. A planned rally by the far-right "Freie Sachsen" was canceled due to lack of participants.
