There was an anniversary on May 14, 1948, but The Forum missed it. It was the day that Jewish Agency chair David Ben-Gurion proclaimed in Tel Aviv the establishment of the state of Israel. It was celebrated then by the Jewish people and within a matter of hours, the United States gave it official recognition as a nation state.

Now how is it that The Forum missed this anniversary?

On the op-ed page was a letter from

Allison Slavik saying that Gaza is not going away

. That might be true, but how about a mention of releasing the hostages held in tunnels by Hamas? Most people could accept a truce if at least a few of the living Jewish people could again see daylight along with the bodies of the dead under Hamas control.

How did the Jewish mothers of those hostages feel on May 12th?

Also,

Trampas Johnson has his viewpoint

expressed about the Palestinian-Israel conflict. How sad that Hamas butchery and savagery has engulfed the innocent lives of the Palestinian families.
Since Secretary of State Blinken and National Security spokesman John Kirby are each on record asking for Hamas to accept a temporary cease-fire and release 30 hostages, I believe that could create more support for Allison’s and Trampas’s debate points. But here we are, no fireworks for a celebration in Israel on its own Independence Day. Instead, there is daily fireworks in Hamas and Israel war.

If Gaza has a right to exist, so does Israel. The entire world knows that Israel is a Jewish nation. Now the readers of The Forum might read the other side of story and pray for the release of the hostages.

Crystal Dueker lives in Fargo.

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – A fairly new group, the North Dakota Polynesian Cultural Club, hosted its first Pacific Island, Asian, Arts and Culture Festival, or PAC Fest for short.

The North Dakota Polynesian Club invited the public to come eat cultural food, watch performances of cultural dances and listen to special speakers at Lord of Life Lutheran Church.

Event organizer, DJ Lamyuen, says he hopes to bring attention to his community.

“The goal and the mission is to bring awareness to our Pacific Islander and Asian heritage,” said Lamyuen.

The performances featured included the Bismarck YMCA belly dancers and traditional Indian dances, celebrating the different ways of life that make the Pacific Islands and Asia diverse. But, the group welcomed everyone from any background to join the celebration.

“That’s all that matters, that we can enjoy each other and different cultures by food, by music, by dance, and that’s all that matters in today’s society,” said Moses Timaly, member of the North Dakota Polynesian Club.

The hope is that this event, and the club, can create a sentiment of unity between the people of Bismarck-Mandan, regardless of where they’re from.

“Not a lot of people out here have resources or friend groups, so this is like an opportunity to kind of get together and know your neighbors and know the community,” said Lamyuen.

A “Best Dressed” Award was also given to whoever wore their cultural regalia or traditional clothing the best.

The group also enjoys working with a variety of nonprofit organizations, such as Bismarck Global Neighbors.

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