The town, which had a population of 65,000 when Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, now has only about 4,000 residents. "People are afraid to come back, we still need to inspire public confidence," said Mohammed Sadoun, the acting mayor. "People are paralyzed by fear."

Iran remains defiant in the face of US efforts to compel it to accept tougher restrictions on its nuclear program and scale back support for proxy wars across the Middle East.

The center will include registration offices, facilities for premarital counseling, and a mikveh where brides can immerse in a private, dignified setting. Former British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: “So many Jews feel that the religious world is looking down on them. Tzohar says be part of this heritage. It is yours as much as it is ours."

If the root of Islamist terror is the ideology and not the people, why are we only going after the terrorists and not their ideology?