C ommunity / mazel tovs
ENGAGEMENTS SHAPIRO-WEISS
LEVIN-LITMAN Neil and Faye Shapiro of Huntingdon Valley
announce the engagement of their daughter,
Chynna Shapiro, to Zachary Weiss.

Chynna is a cum laude graduate of Boston
University with a degree in communications.

She works as a content and strategy associate
manager at Mattel Television. Zach is a
graduate of USC with a BS in business admin-
istration and cinematic arts. He is an analyst
in content analytics, insights and media with
Team Whistle.

Chynna and Zach reside in Santa Monica,
California, and are planning a September 2022
wedding in Palm Springs, California.
Dr. Glenn and Tobi Levin of Ivyland announce the
engagement of their son, Michael Harris, to Alyssa
Lyn Litman.

Alyssa is the daughter of Cindy and Roger
Newcome of Simi Valley, California.

Michael graduated from Council Rock South High
School and The Park School of Communications at
Ithaca College. Alyssa graduated from Agoura High
School and USC Film School.

Michael and Alyssa live in Inglewood, California,
where they both write for television.

Courtesy of the Levin family
Photo by Gabi Zucker
COMMUNITYBRIEFS Artist, Illustrator Samuel Dion Dies at 91
SAMUEL DION, whose career as an artist and
illustrator included drawings that appeared in adver-
tisements run in the Jewish Exponent, died Sept. 6,
daughter Judy Londa said. He was 91.

The Philadelphia native began showcasing his
talents from an early age by drawing portraits of
passersby on the Atlantic City boardwalk, Londa
said. His pastel “Bread, Cheese and Wine” earned
him a scholarship to The University of the Arts in
1948, then called The Museum School of Industrial
Arts; later in his career, he taught there. He was an
illustrator for the Army while stationed in Kentucky
during the Korean War.

From his home in Wyndmoor, Dion drew story-
boards for magazines and advertisements, editorials,
pharmaceutical and fashion illustrations, album
covers and commissions for newspapers.

Dion drew a series of portraits of famous Jewish
Sam Dion holding his portrait of Golda Meir for Goldsteins’
Rosenberg’s Raphael-Sacks
Courtesy of the Dion family
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM figures that appeared in Goldsteins’ Rosenberg’s
Raphael-Sacks ads that ran in the Exponent, Londa
said. He also illustrated a cover for The Saturday
Evening Post during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In the 1990s, Dion moved to Bloomsburg, where
he returned to landscape and portrait painting.

After his second wife died, he returned to
Philadelphia and continued to paint. Throughout
the years, Dion won many awards, and his work was
exhibited at museums and galleries that include The
Woodmere Art Gallery, Cheltenham Center for the
Arts, North Mountain Art League and Artspace
Gallery. In 2020, Dion had a retrospective at The Plastic
Club, a historic Philadelphia gallery where he gave
their first Zoom COVID-era presentation. He has
an exhibition at Artspace Gallery in Bloomsburg
through Oct. 2, Londa said
He is survived by children Jeffrey Dion, Judy
(Bruce) Londa and Alan Dion; step-children Marshall
(Barbara) Cohen, Gary (Shirley) Cohen and Josh (Jen)
Cohen; and three grandchildren.

Dayenu Circle Rallies to Push Sen. Casey to
Support Climate Crisis Measures
Dayenu Circle of Philadelphia rallied Sept. 12 outside
U.S. Sen. Robert Casey’s Center City office to push for
him to support federal action that combats climate
change. Jews and other interfaith partners gathered to
sound the shofar to symbolize a call to action for
investments in clean energy infrastructure, green
technology, resilient buildings and electrification of
transportation, among other things.

“As the Jewish New Year begins, Jewish Americans
JEWISH EXPONENT
and other neighbors of faith are raising their voices at
their senators’ doorsteps, calling them to action with
the blasts of the shofar,” the organization said in a
news release. “Through these public-facing actions,
they aim to give the senators the courage and moral
clarity needed to make big and bold investments
in climate mitigation, at the scale that science and
justice demand.”
Other participants included PA Interfaith Power
& Light, Jewish Earth Alliance, the Shalom Center,
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and Penn
Hillel Dayenu Circle.

Rutgers Alumni Call for Action Against SJP
More than 400 Rutgers University alumni recently
sent a letter to university President Jonathan Holloway
condemning an anti-Israel statement made by Rutgers
Mutual Aid and Students for Justice in Palestine.

Alums for Campus Fairness say the statement
demonizes the state of Israel, alleges white supremacy
and Zionism are the two biggest threats to the Jewish
community and targets Rutgers Hillel.

“Due to SJP’s history of making Jewish and
Pro-Israel students feel unsafe through intimidation,
violence, and veiled antisemitism, we see the purpose
of this recent statement is to isolate Rutgers Hillel
for embracing Zionism as a central part of Jewish
identity,” the letter reads.

The letter calls on Rutgers’ administration to
investigate and recognize SJP’s history, adopt the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s
working definition of antisemitism and meet with
Jewish and Zionist students and community members
to help foster a safer, inclusive campus. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
SEPTEMBER 16, 2021
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