NY Times columnist Roger Cohen flew out to LA on his own dime to meet with Iranian ex-pats outraged over his latest column, What Iran’s Jews Have to Say. The JTA writes:
Many of the estimated 30,000 Iranian Jewish expatriates living in Los Angeles, who uprooted themselves from their homes in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, said Cohen’s evaluation was dangerously naive at best and, at worst, a mockery of their own experiences.
Cohen and The New York Times were inundated with letters and e-mails, prompting Cohen to agree to fly to Los Angeles and address critics at Sinai Temple, which has a large representation of Iranian congregants. Cohen said he paid for the trip himself.
Cohen also wrote a follow-up column defending his views . . .
The LA Jewish Journal posted a video of Cohen’s debate.
A dialogue like this would have been unlikely a few years ago. I credit the blogosphere reaction with calling Cohen onto the carpet. Social media is democratizing the media.
