• This weekend’s massive anti-government protests in Turkey, which erupted in response to government plans to turn Istanbul’s Gezi Park into a shopping complex, were shut down by the government with water cannons, tear gas, and pepper spray. [Reuters]
• Syria, meanwhile, has issued a travel warning advising citizens not to enter Turkey. Insert pot/kettle line here. [CNN]
• Alicia Keys confirmed she will still perform in Tel Aviv on July 4, despite calls for her to boycott. [Arts Beat]
• Competitive eating champ Joey Chestnut can add pastrami king to his resume after winning the World Pastrami Eating Championship, part of the festivities celebrating the 125th anniversary of Katz’s Deli. [The Lo-Down]
• 71-year-old Jewish rock star Lou Reed is recovering after a liver transplant at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic. [AP]
• “I call it Jewish rock and roll:” The Times profiled 56-year-old Dani Lubnitzki, Israel-born emcee at Lower East Side staple Sammy’s Roumanian Steak House. [NYT]
Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.