Jewish Week Leipzig

17th Jewish Week 2026 — „Schalom“

Since 1992, the city of Leipzig, in cooperation with the Israelite Religious Community, has regularly organized the Jewish Week — a series of events that focuses on Jewish religion, culture, and history. In 2026, the 17th edition is under the Hebrew greeting of peace „Schalom“ and is part of a very special year: Saxony is celebrating the statewide thematic year „TACHELES. Year of Jewish Culture in Saxony 2026“ in 2026 — a program with hundreds of events spread across the entire state.

From June 21 to 28, 2026 — Over 130 Events

Over eight days, more than 130 events will be spread across numerous venues in Leipzig's city center. Classical concerts (Klezmer, Jewish liturgy, Yiddish songs), readings by Jewish and non-Jewish authors, film series with Israeli and Eastern European productions, theater performances, discussion formats on antisemitism and contemporary Jewish life, eyewitness talks with survivors, exhibitions on the Jewish history of Leipzig and Saxony, religious services in the synagogue, culinary evenings with kosher cuisine, workshops for schools.

The Synagogue and Jewish Leipzig

Before 1933, Leipzig had one of the largest Jewish communities in Germany with over 18,000 members. The Brody Synagogue in Keilstraße, opened in 1855, was the central place of worship. It survived the Reichspogromnacht in 1938 as one of the few synagogues in Germany and is still active today. The Israelite Religious Community in Leipzig currently has around 1,200 members, many of whom are immigrants from the successor states of the Soviet Union. The Jewish Week is also a commitment of this community to the city and to openness towards the non-Jewish majority society.

Saxony, Leipzig, and the TACHELES Thematic Year

With „TACHELES“ (Yiddish: plain speaking, honest conversation), the Free State of Saxony has dedicated an entire year to Jewish culture for the first time in 2026. Hundreds of cultural institutions — from theaters to museums to church communities — are participating. The Jewish Week Leipzig is one of the largest events of this thematic year and concentrates the program in a city whose Jewish history is exemplary for many aspects of German-Jewish life: a flourishing pre-war community, the Shoah, a slow re-establishment after 1989, and contemporary diversity.