Lidl targeted by Palestine protest as shelves stripped of Israel-linked products

Lidl targeted by Palestine protest as shelves stripped of Israel-linked products

WATCH NOW: Pro-Palestine protesters take Israeli-linked products off the shelves of Cardiff Lidl

Voice Wales
Holly Bishop

By Holly Bishop


Published: 11/04/2024

- 12:46

Updated: 12/04/2024

- 10:39

Demonstrators holding signs reading 'Don't buy into genocide' have entered the store

Pro-Palestine protesters have taken Israeli-linked products off the shelves of a Lidl in Cardiff Lidl.

The group Cardiff Stop the War said they are protesting against the "Western-backed Israeli onslaught in Gaza".


Photos shared on social media show protesters inside and outside the store in Cathays with banners reading: "Don't buy into genocide."

Demonstrators were filmed taking products with links to Israel off of the shelves and placing them into baskets.

'Don't buy into genocide' sign

The group are calling for supermarkets to stop selling Israeli-linked products

In another video, a group member spoke into a microphone whilst standing inside the store, calling out the supermarket chain's bosses to stop selling Israeli-linked products.

She said: “We want the managers to understand that Israeli goods are not welcome to be sold in your supermarkets. We need you to understand there is nothing ethical or organic about what they are doing.

“They are taking land from Palestinians, lifting it from under their feet, and stealing their livelihoods to sell these avocados to us, so we want you to consider selling different things from different countries that are not engaging in genocide.”

She used an example of another store nearby that had boycotted Coca-Cola and instead started selling another brand, and called on Lidl to do the same.

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“Please take this seriously,” she stressed, surrounded by fellow protesters at the front of the store.

She mentioned coffee chain Starbucks, which she claims has been forced to close down stores as people are boycotting them due to their links to Israel.

“People are saying no to genocide, no to funding genocide, no to complicit genocide. People are saying I don’t want your genocidal murder in my stomach,” she bellowed.

Franchise owner AlShaya Group, the company behind Starbucks in the Middle East, announced plans last month to lay off four per cent of its workforce of 50,000, amid a consumer boycott against the brand.

\u200bProtesters take Israeli-linked products off the shelves from the Cardiff store

Protesters take Israeli-linked products off the shelves from the Cardiff store

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Protests in the US have been common, as demonstrators suggest that the company has pro-Israel bias - a claim Starbucks has denied, maintaining its impartiality.

The group called on Lidl, as well as other supermarket chains, to stop stocking Israeli products in their stores.

Lidl’s own brand Lupilu baby wipes are made in Ashdod, Israel, but they were keen to stress that the majority of baby wipes sourced by Lidl GB come from a British supplier and were made in the UK.

Lidl said in a statement: "As an inclusive organisation we advocate respect and diversity, and the companies of the Schwarz Group reject all forms of violence."

Ahead of the protest, the Cardiff Stop the War group shared a poster of the event online, with the caption: "A people's inspection to monitor if the supermarket continues to stock goods in violation of the global call for boycott, divestment & sanctions to isolate Israel as we isolated apartheid in South Africa. Help publicise the boycott!"

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