El Al airplane
El Al airplanePhoto: Moshe Shai / Flash90

Susan Masrua, who was born in the UK and now lives in the Israeli-Arab city of Tayibe, was reunited with her younger brother, Andy Cook today at Ben-Gurion airport, the pair hadn't seen each other for 59 years.

Susan, 60, grew up in foster care and at age 18 she came to Israel for work, she met her husband and decided to stay, living in Tayibe.

For many years, Susan tried to locate other members of her family but to no avail. Susan eventually found the Facebook page of the boarding school she attended and recognized a lady from the page who had attended the school with her. However the women didn't remember her, even after seeing a picture of Susan. the lady asked her husband if he recognized Susan, he also attended the boarding school, he instantly did and knew that Susan's family had been looking for her.

The couple connected Susan to her brother Andy, who is two years younger. Andy was skeptical at the beginning and questioned Susan about the past, but once he understood it was in fact his sister they both broke down crying. Andy connected her to other members of the family who she is looking forward to meeting.

Andy flew to Israel, and last night they were finally reunited, having never properly met. Susan felt like today was a festival and her husband couldn't believe that he finally was meeting Susan's family. A truly miraculous occasion for the Cook and Masrua families.

View the first meeting below, as filmed by Ynet: