Historic news over the weekend in the Middle East.

Rebels in Syria have overthrown the brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad.

The Assad family ruled the country for decades, relying on mass killings, torture and imprisonment to carry out their agenda.

Those human rights abuses severely escalated over the last 13 years, as the regime clung to power in a bloody civil war propped up by Russia and Iran.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed in the war, and half of Syria's population has been displaced.

Thousands of refugees have already begun returning to Syria from Lebanon.

While celebrations immediately erupted in the streets of Damascus, President Joe Biden joined international leaders in celebrating the end of Assad's reign, but said the United States would keep a skeptical eye on what comes next.

As Assad seeks asylum in Moscow.

Many people gathered in Wayne on Sunday to celebrate the news.

New Jersey, of course, is home to a large Syrian population.

Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, who was born in Syria and still has family in the country, was part of that celebration.

He joins me now to discuss how the news is reverberating in new Jersey and, mayor, it's good to talk to you.

I know you still have family in Syria.

What are you feeling?

What are they feeling?

In what has just been a stunning, stunning, sequence of events.

So I have some family and friends who still in Aleppo and in Damascus.

They are safe.

They are happy.

They are waiting to see what's next.

But as far as having, you know, their lives, they have food, they have access to food.

The power is in and out as it was before.

So there's no changes there.

But they are looking forward.

They're optimistic.

But they'll say if that's, the most important thing, did you ever picture that this day would come, given the sheer amount of poverty, of brutality, that everyone in that country seemingly has experienced to over these last 13 years and many decades prior.

Now, when the first time this started in 2011 and nothing happened, we thought this would be it.

We will have to live with this for a long time.

And I know the people there were struggling.

The money was almost worthless.

Things that cost, in their, you know, like one lira.

But say, now it's like 10,000 liras.

So it was very, you know, very hard to live.

And at some point, the there was going to be.

Okay, we had enough.

And I think this is a time.

Are you concerned at all about what happens next?

We know that it's an Islamist group that the U.S. has at least, still deemed a terrorist organization.

Has been making some public statements about, taking control now, but also respecting the diversity of Syrians.

What are your concerns with now of regime change?

Was the fear of the unknown?

It's very natural.

The Christian minorities in Syria were always looked at, we were always, you know, dealt with very nicely protected.

So we are very anxious to see what's next.

We're optimistic.

We've heard another following this for days.

I've heard all the right things coming out, but it's, you know, the follow up.

I just hope they do consider the minorities.

They consider the different areas and the different sects, you know, that we had in Syria, the different tribes and the different areas.

They all have to be accounted for.

So it's going to be very complicated.

This will not be an easy transition by any means.

Do other, you know, Syrian Americans who you were with over the weekend in Wayne?

Do they share in that with you?

I mean, you were with Prospect Park, Mayor co-ruler.

A large group of folks who were celebrating this.

Do they share in both this joy but also feeling of of nervous uncertainty?

I think we share the joy that, there's a change now.

We're all very optimistic.

And I've spoken to the mayor.

I've spoken to to so many people, too, about what's next.

And especially for the minorities.

The Christian minorities.

We, there's they're sitting there and they're just waiting to see what's next.

We're hoping, I mean, we will have to work with it, but we're hoping that good things and good times are ahead for Syria.

Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, thank you so much for your time.

We'll be checking back in with you.

My pleasure.

Thank you.