An Israeli woman whose grandfather was imprisoned and tortured by the Syrian regime during the 1970s said she is celebrating the downfall of the Assad dynasty.

Yaffa Levy, the daughter of a Syrian-born immigrant to Israel, shared her family’s personal story of suffering under Hafez al-Assad with Hebrew-language outlet Ynet.

Levy’s father, Marco (Mordechai) Khalifa, was born in Syria to a wealthy family. As a teenager, he became a staunch Zionist and helped smuggle Syrian Jews – who were banned from leaving the country – to Israel via the Golan Heights.