A Pro-Palestinian protest at a Lidl store in Wales was “not peaceful” as promised, with a staff member claiming they were verbally abused and “overwhelmed” customers walked out of the shop in tears.
Demonstrators from Cardiff Stop the War, who were protesting the “Western-backed Israeli onslaught in Gaza”, told the supermarket in Cathays beforehand that they would be staging a “peaceful protest” outside the store.
An employee on shift at the time told GB News that the group said they would only enter the shop to hand a letter over to the manager on shift at the time, however, this was not the case.
Photos shared on social media show protesters inside and outside the store in Cathays with banners reading: “Don't buy into genocide.” Demonstrators were also filmed taking products with links to Israel off of the shelves, whilst a group member spoke into a megaphone to call out the supermarket for selling Israeli-tied products.
A worker at Lidl who was on shift when a pro-Palestinian group staged a protest in the store said she was verbally abused by demonstrators, who also made customers cry
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The staff member told GB News: “They had completely torn apart an aisle, stripping stock off the shelves and covering them in stickers along with fresh produce. I can understand if a product is supplied by Israel. But what the protesters seemed to not understand is we have no say in the produce we sell as general shop assistants and managers.”
They added that the demonstration “left many customers feeling unsafe and uncomfortable”, with some crying due to the “overwhelming” situation, and staff made the decision to close the shop.
“We had many complaints from customers within the store at the time, explaining how distressed, uncomfortable and uneasy they had felt. With a few customers in tears due to feeling overwhelmed with the attack on the store,” they said.
Police were called to the scene, and staff members soon began to escort customers out whilst informing incoming shoppers that the store was being shut due to safety reasons. However, the staff member was then verbally abused by the protesters, who called them “pathetic” and “useless”.
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“I then received verbal abuse from members of the protest. Calling me pathetic, useless and part of the problem with what is going on in Palestine due to closing the store. I informed them it was due to safety we closed, only to be laughed at and told I was nothing but pathetic for doing so,” they said.
The shop worker blasted the protesters for the demonstration, stating they felt their safety was compromised: “Nothing of what took place today was peaceful, it was more vandalism and disrespectful to us as colleagues. As well as receiving verbal abuse felt like my job was a place, I wasn’t safe today.
“They laughed in the faces of me and my colleagues. They exclaimed they had nothing against the people working, but it felt like an attack.”
They explained that after the protest, staff spent three hours cleaning up the mess made by Cardiff Stop the War. “Our job is tough enough as it is, and to then have to stop our normal day to day tasks to clean up their mess was distressing and frustrating,” they explained.
Footage of a protester speaking to customers and staff inside the store was shared on social media. Speaking into a microphone, they 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.
The group are calling for supermarkets to stop selling Israeli-linked productsVoice Wales - X“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.”
Demonstrators were also filmed taking products with links to Israel off the shelves and placing them into baskets.
The group called on Lidl, as well as other supermarket chains, to stop stocking Israeli products in their stores.
Police South Wales said: "Shortly after 11.15am on Thursday April 11 officers were called concerning a protest at a supermarket in the Cathays area of Cardiff.
Protesters were spoken to and remained outside the store until around midday before dispersing. No arrests were made."
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 were made in Britain.
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.”
GB News has reached out to Cardiff Stop the War for comment.