For the first time in nearly thirty years, a group of American Jews originally from Damascus returned to Syria last week. Thanks to the fall of the Assad regime, the group, led by Rabbi Yosef Hamra, was able to tour prominent historical Jewish sites in the Syrian capital and see family homes.

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?

For the first time in three decades, Rabbi Joseph Hamra and his son Henry read from a Torah scroll in a synagogue in the heart of Syria's capital Damascus, carefully passing their thumbs over the handwritten text as if still in awe they were back home.

As Rabbi Yusuf Hamra and his son Henry were visiting Damascus this week for the first time since emigrating from Syria to the United States more than three decades ago, they were met by former neighbors with embraces and and gossip .

Syria's tiny Jewish community said they held their first group prayer in decades on Feb. 19, in a synagogue in Damascus's Old City, expressing joy at the long-awaited return to public worship.

While the new authorities have pledged to ensure inclusivity for all communities, concerns persist regarding religious tolerance.

For the first time in three decades, Rabbi Joseph Hamra and his son Henry returned to a synagogue in the heart of Syria's capital Damascus. Syrian's authorities have said all of Syria's communities will play a role in their country's future but some are wary. Sean Hogan has more.