Sanctions still cripple a shattered Syria; a Jewish leader returns from exile

During the Assad regimes, Western nations placed crippling economic sanctions on the country. Some have been lifted, but most are still in place, so how does a country shattered by civil war rebuild? And we follow the return to Damascus of one US Syrian Jewish leader, after decades in exile. Sponsor Message Enlarge this image Rabbi Yousif Hamra, cantor Harry Hamra and Rabbi Asher Lopatin read a centuries old Torah inside the 500-year-old Faranj synagogue in Damascus on Feb. 18, 2025. Ayman Oghanna for NPR hide caption toggle caption Ayman Oghanna for NPR Rabbi Yousif Hamra, cantor Harry Hamra and Rabbi Asher Lopatin read a centuries old Torah inside the 500-year-old Faranj synagogue in Damascus on Feb. 18, 2025. Ayman Oghanna for NPR