Monday's News & Ideas - 5/5/2025

Israel plans to capture all of Gaza under new plan, officials say
The Associated Press: Israel approved plans Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, a move that, if implemented, would vastly expand Israel’s operations there and likely draw fierce international opposition.

Is this the end of the separation of church and state?*
The New Yorker: The Justices, who have steadily eroded prohibitions on government sponsorship of religious schools, now seem ready to end them entirely.

Experts agree: What Trump is doing is fascism
Religion Dispatches: While too many American leaders are content to quibble over definitional particularities, experts are (finally) calling a fascist a fascist.

New Jersey town moves to seize property of Episcopal church that wants to open homeless shelter
Episcopal News Service: An Episcopal congregation here, after facing months of backlash from some neighbors in response to its proposal for a 17-bed homeless shelter, now has been targeted by the town for possible public seizure of the 11-acre church property through eminent domain.

Former Myers Park Baptist Church pastor to launch new congregation in south Charlotte*
The Charlotte Observer: About 100 people have signed up for the service so far, Ben Boswell said. It will be held in a sanctuary at the Union Presbyterian Seminary campus on Sharon Road near the South Park neighborhood.

The Spark

The Americans who left
Some of the United States’ Vietnam War opponents found refuge* in Canada. Fifty years after the end of the war, they’re still worried about the future, The New York Times says.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers