A Jewish advisor at a religious centre in Sheffield is warning communities that people are becoming increasingly worried for their own safety after attacks on Synagogues in London.

Despite reports of Jews being “terrified” to wear the symbol of Judaism, Patsy Cunningham proudly displays the Star of David around her neck.

The 85-year-old advisor at the Belief, No Belief religious centre at the University of Sheffield, came to the UK from Budapest in 2001.

Patsy said: “One of the things I have learned is that there is real fear and real sorrow in a safe enough place.”

Two teenagers have been arrested yesterday following an arson attack at a synagogue in Harrow, north-west London, with antisemitism reaching an all-time high in the UK right now.

A recent survey of 1,000 students for the Union of Jewish students has showed that one in five students of all backgrounds said they would not be open to house-sharing with a Jewish person.

Many Jewish people living in the UK are often called “racist” or a “Zionist”, leading to widespread fear across Jewish communities of increased attacks as of late.

The seventies brought back memories for Patsy, keeping a pin on her handbag that she bought with both the Israeli and Palestinian flag embedded, alongside the phrase “Tikkun” which means repair.

She compares the ongoing wars in Gaza to those in the seventies, where “Israel was much more fragile at that time and there were many wars resulting in countless murders”.

Patsy highlighted the importance of Israeli writer Amos Oz, who grew up in mandatory Palestine and later Israel and argued that war in Gaza was not due to religion or culture.

Her necklace and pin reflects her aim to bring both the Jewish and Muslim communities together.

For Patsy, being Jewish will always represent pride to her, however, there is becoming a growing sense of sadness as attacks on Jewish communities continue to occur.

She gets the bus often, where many people notice her Star of David necklace and are “really interested” to want to talk to her about the ongoing wars and leadership in Israel.

Patsy said: “The Star of David really provokes conversation, yet I’ve had it for years and it continues to be what I show.”

The conversations that she has with people of various backgrounds initially seems like both her and the person speaking to her are at “very opposite sides”, however, Patsy describes how both her and the person she speaks to “gradually get closer” once both people have shared their views.

One conversation that Patsy fondly remembers was on a deserted bus two and a half years ago at the beginning of the current war between Israel and Palestine with a student.

She said: “She was crying and frantically looking at her phone as she couldn’t find something whilst speaking Arabic, where I learnt Arabic for a year. I looked over and saw that it was due to the beginning of the war and saw the pain she was in.”

She saw Patsy’s pin with the two flags together, saying “I’ve never seen those two flags together”, to which Patsy responded with “Yes, but they must be”.

For Patsy, contact with people of different backgrounds is important for her to be able to teach people more about Judaism and her faith, sharing similarities with others to promote inclusion in Sheffield and surrounding areas she visits.

Living in Sheffield as a Jewish person currently, Patsy has dealt with young people who try to make her feel uncomfortable about presenting her faith, yet she has had lots of support from various Muslim communities.

She was invited to six Iftar’s this year, and spoke at four of them.

Patsy also joked that her Sheffield accent was “perfect” for an Jewish American and people who stop to talk to her think that she is a “Native Sheffielder”.

The challenges of being Jewish in Sheffield remain, however, as Patsy said: “Jews with successful degrees in the medical industry cry when they feel safe enough to talk about being Jewish, where there is pride yet so much sadness.”

Patsy is part of the Seven Hills Shul progressive community, who meet up at Ranmoor Parish house as they currently don’t have a permanent residency.

The community has talks and teaching seminars that help a very small Jewish community in Sheffield, helping people form a collective during the difficult times and many challenges facing Jews right now.