Marcelo Dimentstein Presents “Are there still Jews in Eastern Europe?” The Rediscovery of Central and Eastern European Jews, 1984-1997

In this lecture, delivered on October 21, 2025, Dr. Marcelo Dimentstein explores how Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe was reexamined by Western scholars, journalists, and Jewish organizations from the late Communist period through the 1990s. Drawing on sources including the JDC Archives, he highlights how personal narratives and cultural documentation revealed renewed Jewish identities and communal revival. These accounts informed the work of Jewish philanthropic agencies seeking to support local renewal efforts.

Marcelo Dimentstein, PhD is director of research and evaluation at JDC Europe. Trained as a social anthropologist, since 2009 he has directed the research unit on contemporary Judaism at JDC’s European office, the International Centre for Community Development (JDC-ICCD). In his position as director of the JDC-ICCD, he has coordinated numerous research projects on different phenomena of contemporary Jewish life in Europe. His doctoral dissertation analyzed the transnational history of the reconstruction of Jewish communities after the fall of communism. Marcelo teaches in different community leadership training seminars of Leatid’s European program and oversees the strategies for measuring and evaluating the impact of JDC’s programs in the region. He currently lives in Barcelona with his family.