Yosef Mendelevitch issues in 1969. Being repeatably refused the right to immigration, he became one of the leaders of the Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair, recounted in his 2012 memoir, "Unbroken Spirit". As punishment, he was imprisoned for eleven years. During the imprisonment he was punished for keeping Jewish precepts. In 1981, after a worldwide struggle, he was released and immigrated to Israel. He served in Soviet prisons with famous Jewish dissident Natan Sharansky (amongst others). In Sharansky's memoir "Fear No Evil" he describes innovative ways Mendelevitch used to communicate with Sharansky, such as through both toilet bowls and radiators. Mendelevitch had always exhibited
Joel C. Rosenberg ran until 2000, and claims to have consulted for former Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Natan Sharansky and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where he says that he garnered much of his information on the Middle East that he uses in his books. Following Netanyahu's loss in 1999, Rosenberg decided to retire from politics altogether and begin a new career in writing. "The Last Jihad" was both his first book and the first of a five-part fictional series involving terrorism and how it may relate to Bible Prophecy. The book was written nine months before the September 11th attacks (a revised edition