the centuries like those
recalled in this background.
The reference here to the
hatred that pursued our
people for many years in
many places calls for an ex-
:planation. Also from the
Standard Jewish Encyclo-
pedia we have:
Hep! Hep! Anti-Jewish
slogan used during the
riots in Germany in 1819.
The cry was then said to
be of Crusader origin, be-
ing formed from the in-
itials of the words
Hierosolyma est perdita
("Jerusalem is lost").
This is how we learn
about events in earlier
years of this century
while having information
both about the hatreds of
the past and the
reconstruction tasks of
the present.
William Avrunin:
Jewish Social
Service Giant
William Avrunin, who died
Nov. 19 at age 81, left in-
delible legacies in his ser-
vices on a national scale in
social service leadership. As
successor to Isadore Sobeloff
as executive vice president
of the Detroit Jewish Wel-
fare federation, he made
notable contributions in
uplifting Jewish communal
aspirations.
With an impressive
background, which com-
menced in journalism, and
with an emphasis on
cultural aims in Jewish life,
he gave great encourage-
ment to educational tasks
and set the foundations for
strong youth movements.
For at least three decades
during his leadership as an
executive director of welfare
federations, he was an in-
spiration in setting high
standards in social service.
The special essays and
monographs he authored on
subjects involving education
and the training of commu-
nal leaders could forma
strong basis for the training
of social workers and
guidance to community
leaders.
Stemming from prominent
American Jewish families
that included Zionists,
Hebraists, Yiddishists and
interpreters of their ideal-
ism, he drew upon all of
them.
William Avrunin was cer-
tainly among the giants in
American Jewish social ser-
vice leadership. ❑
Jewish Economist
Advises Consulate
Miami (JTA) — Robert
Harris Blum has the distinc-
tion of being the only non-
Japanese to serve in a policy
position in any Japanese
consulate in the United
States. And Mr. Blum is an
Orthodox Jew.
"You could say I became
culturally sensitive the hard
way," said Mr. Blum, who
serves as an economic ad-
viser to the Japanese con-
sulate in Miami, which
opened in August.
The energetic, 40-ish look-
ing Mr. Blum (he refused to
give his exact age) said he
and his brother were
"beaten up every day" for
being Jewish in the New
England town where they
were raised. That experience
drove him to explore other
cultures.
"I heard these things (anti-
Semitic acts) didn't happen
in the Orient, where Chris-
tianity was a minority re-
ligion," Mr. Blum said.
Mr. Blum soon took up
Oriental martial arts and
began studying Oriental
languages — "of which I
speak several," he said
matter-of-factly.
But it was really a series of
experiences that ultimately
brought him together with
his wife, a Japanese woman
"who converted to Judaism
in front of a Beit Din (rab-
binic court)," that led Mr.
Blum to a career in Oriental
affairs.
Mr. Blum has been a
translator of Chinese for the
U.S. government, an inter-
national stockbroker for a
Japanese company and a
teacher at the university
level in Taiwan.
He now serves as a "Cuba-
watcher" at the Japanese
Consulate in Miami.
Mr. Blum said he would
personally be happy to see
Japanese-Israeli ties im-
prove.
Larry Paul makes
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