FILE - Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, right, is greeted by neighbours in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. The Syrian-American Jewish family returned for the first time since emigrating from Syria to ...

AL-SHALCHI: Just next door, 40-year-old Alaa Sloojee fixes a stand of purses he's selling in his shop. His face glows with a wide smile. He says he feels relief that the old regime is gone.