News, Fyllingsdalen | This staircase makes the commitment boil

Southwest: On the night of Sunday, the stairs from the crossing Damsgårdsveien/Håsteins gate to Kringsjåveien on Laksevåg were painted as the Palestinian flag.

Sydvesten has been in contact with one of the initiators behind the Palestine staircase. Hen says that they wish to remain anonymous, as the campaign was carried out without permission.

– We were a small group of street artists who had been planning this for a while. Such a staircase was recently made in Belgium, and we thought we should have one in Bergen as well. The idea behind the action is to show solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are undergoing a genocide these days, and to show that we in Bergen are thinking of them.

Great commitment

– Then we hope people who go up the stairs, or walk past it, think of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. And not least, think of all the Palestinians who live in Bergen, who have family and friends in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.

– The stairs were painted without permission. Do you think it will stay looking like this for long?

– We hope it will remain for a long time, and that it can become a monument for the Palestinian people. The reason we did not apply is that it is difficult to get permission for such political expressions. Then we instead resort to civil disobedience.

After a picture of the stairs was posted on the Facebook group Herlige Laksevåg on Thursday, the reactions have not been long in coming. By Friday morning, over 400 people had reacted to the picture and many had commented. The vast majority are positive, but some react the opposite way.

Concerned about anti-Semitism

KrF politician Joel Ystebø from Fyllingsdalen does not think anything of the campaign.

– An uncritical demonstration of support for the Palestinian side of this war, I believe overlooks something very important. Israelis want to live in peace, but Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack on October 7 triggered this war. A war that has led to great civilian suffering on both sides, he writes in a message to the South West.

– In addition, I am concerned about how so many markings like this turn out for our small Jewish minority in Bergen. They experience a high degree of anti-Semitism from before, but after the outbreak of war, the situation has been very serious for Jews in Bergen, writes Ystebø.