He glanced at her, took in the well-groomed auburn hair, the black dress, made of cotton but nicely cut, and her air of quality. And of course, there was her self-confidence, courage and compassion to be taken into consideration, all displayed when she had rushed at the hooligans, waving her fist and shouting at them. She had not displayed an ounce of fear and had shown she was in command of the situation. He decided he must explain who he was in more detail, explain Judaism.

He said, ‘You are not from Leeds, I do believe. You are from the rural area, aren’t you, miss?’

Emma answered at once. ‘I am from Ripon.’

‘Ah, yes, well, that does indeed explain it.’

‘Explains what?’ Emma asked carefully, regarding him with quizzical eyes.

‘That you do not know that there are many, many Jews like me in Leeds, a whole population, mostly living in the Leylands area. And I do believe you don’t know exactly what a Jew is. Am I not correct, young lady?’

Although Emma always wanted to appear well-educated and filled with knowledge, she had no choice but to tell the truth. Clearing her throat, she replied, ‘I don’t really understand, actually. Won’t you tell me, please? I like to learn about many things, sir.’ She felt slightly embarrassed, having shown her ignorance, always wanting to appear well-informed and cleverer than most.

The man began to speak in a soft, gentle voice. ‘The Jews are a people descended from the Hebrews and the Israelites, from the tribes of Israel, in fact. Our religion is called Judaism. It was founded on both the Old Testament and the Torah.’

Emma was listening, giving him all her attention. The man noticed this, beheld the quickening interest in her eyes, the intelligence written all over her face. He also knew she harboured a sympathetic attitude, which she had proved by her actions.

Taking a deep breath, he asked, ‘Have you read the Book of Exodus? Do you know the Ten Commandments?’

‘Yes, some of it.’

The man continued. ‘The Ten Commandments were given to our people by Moses when he led us out of Egypt and created the Jewish nation. Christianity itself is based on Judaism. Did you know that?’ He peered at her intently.

‘No, I didn’t,’ Emma answered, knowing she must be truthful with him.

‘Jesus Christ was a Jew, and think how Jesus was persecuted.’ The man sighed and his black eyes appeared to be full of sorrow. ‘I suppose we Jews appear to be strange to some. That is because of our dietary laws, customs and forms of worship. We are not the same as Gentiles; our ways are a little different.’ He paused, shook his head, and added, ‘But I do believe we are not so very different when you stop to think about it. We are all human beings.’