 Cohen's depiction of Jewish life in Iran sparked criticism from columnists and activists such as Jeffrey Goldberg of "The Atlantic Monthly" and Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies.In his "Jerusalem Post" op-ed, Medoff criticized Cohen for being "misled by the existence of synagogues" and further argued that Iranian Jews "are captives of the regime, and whatever they say is carefully calibrated not to get themselves into trouble.