The Soviets had long been using tactics of harassment, arrest, and incarceration on Soviet Jews. By the early 1970’s Soviet officials were using intimidation tactics on Western tourists who visited refuseniks. In July 1974 an incident of such harassment involving U.S. college students Miriam Rosenblum and Sheldon Benjamin brought widespread attention and condemnation in the U.S. press including a Los Angeles Times editorial in July 1974. Marking the fiftieth anniversary of the arrest of two American students, Cincinnati’s American Israelite newspaper ran a “50 Years Ago” article in July 2024.