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Yom Kippur Zoom reunites 2 Holocaust survivors 71 years later

On the left, a 1948 photo, provided by Ruth Brandspiegel, Brandspiegel is photographed in the Hallein Displaced Persons Camp in Austria following World War II. On the right, Israel "Sasha" Eisenberg is photographed at the Hallein Displaced Persons Camp in Austria in 1949. (Ruth Brandspiegel via AP)

Holocaust survivors Ruth Brandspiegel and Israel “Sasha” Eisenberg met after World War II at a displaced persons camp in Austria where they became friends.

They last saw each other in 1949 when they were children.


For decades, they lost track of each other. But Brandspiegel recently heard Sasha’s name being called out during a Yom Kippur service held via Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It turned out they had been living less than 60 miles away for years, and they have now reunited after more than 70 years.

Both call it a miracle that began on the holiest day in Judaism.