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Sundown: Syrian Troops Seize Strategic Villages

Plus Hong Kong’s Jewish high school graduates its first class, and more

by
Stephanie Butnick
June 07, 2013
A picture taken on June 7, 2013, shows a Syrian army tank parked in Dabaa, north of Qusayr, in Syria's central Homs province(-/AFP/Getty Images)
A picture taken on June 7, 2013, shows a Syrian army tank parked in Dabaa, north of Qusayr, in Syria's central Homs province(-/AFP/Getty Images)

• With the help of Hezbollah, Syrian troops took control of two small villages near the strategically significant town of Qusair, which was captured Wednesday. [Times of Israel]

• What Istanbul’s Taksim Square, the epicenter of the city’s recent anti-government protests, symbolizes for Turkey’s citizens. [NYT]

• Hong Kong’s first Jewish high school graduated its first class of seniors this year. The city has a Jewish poulation of nearly 5,000. [Times of Israel]

• A Michigan man defends hanging a Nazi flag and a Confederate flag from his Bay City home, both of which have since been taken down, saying he did it to keep drug dealers away from his house. [Huffington Post]

• New York City’s classic kosher joint Prime Grill has reopened a few blocks north of its original 49th street location. [Village Voice]

• Why temporary host John Oliver is exactly what The Daily Show needs. [TNR]

Stephanie Butnick is chief strategy officer of Tablet Magazine, co-founder of Tablet Studios, and a host of the Unorthodox podcast.