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In 2000, attorneys Mayer
Morganroth, Jeffrey Morganroth and
Daniel Harold joined the cause. A
lawsuit had been previously filed in
federal court in Detroit, but in 2002
the government managed to get the
case dismissed. The government
claimed that the alleged anti-Semitic
actions against Tenenbaum couldn’t
be explored because of “state
secrets.”
In 2006, then-U.S. Sen.
Carl Levin of Michigan
was instrumental in finally
getting Tenenbaum’s
case investigated by the
Department of Defense
Office of Inspector General.
The Inspector General
issued a report in July 2008
Carl Levin
finding discrimination
against Tenenbaum based
on religion and ethnicity. But despite
the best efforts of Inspector General
Claude Kicklighter, anti-Tenenbaum
elements within his office managed
to greatly water down the report,
Tenenbaum said.
In 2009, Tenenbaum again sued the
Army, seeking money damages and
using the Inspector General report
as evidence. This effort, too, was dis-
missed on the Army’s argument that
the Inspector General hadn’t inves-
tigated the so-called “state secrets”
issue.
Tenenbaum said the report should
have been enough to require action,
but the Army refused to abide by its
own report and provide a remedy. So,
the plea for justice from the senators
to the current secretary of defense is
perhaps his last avenue of relief.

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In the meantime, Tenenbaum
remains on the job at TACOM, but
the torment he feels continues. He
says he has been purposely underuti-
lized and remains a pariah.
“David has to scratch and claw for
everything,” said attorney Harold.
“Over the past several years, David
has created some programs or tried
to create programs. Sometimes he
gets the run-around, and the pro-
grams are not given the go-ahead.
Other times, as soon as they are
ready to be successful, they are taken
away from him.
“It’s to drive him crazy and force
him out. Like an eviction.”
Because of his history and the
Army’s refusal to make amends,
defense contractors decline to work
with him on Army projects and
would refuse to hire him if he left
TACOM. He describes his job as a
state of professional limbo.
A response is expected soon from
the Department of Defense. It could

agree with the senators’ letter and
provide Tenenbaum with an apology
and financial compensation. Or it
can decline to give him relief.
Many others have advocated on
Tenenbaum’s behalf. A “Justice for
Dr. David Tenenbaum” petition can
be signed online at bit.ly/2l9ngw1.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los
Angeles and the Jewish Community
Council/AJC of Metropolitan Detroit
have expressed their support.
Tenenbaum has autho-
rized a book about his tra-
vails to be published in the
next six months. He says
the book is not intended
to make money but to get
the full impact of his story
of anti-Semitism out to the
public.
Tenenbaum’s cause has
also been aided by the
Washington, D.C.-based Project on
Government Oversight, a nonparti-
san watchdog group. Moral support
has also been given by Dr. Michael
Engleberg of the New York Center for
Civil Justice, Tolerance & Values in
Woodmere, N.Y.
Even though this case is
about Southfield engineer David
Tenenbaum who’s been persecuted
by a segment of the U.S. government
— it’s seen as not just his problem.
In a letter of support for
Tenenbaum, Rabbi David Zwiebel,
executive vice president of the New
York-based Orthodox organization
Agudath Israel of America, stated
that if the government doesn’t make
amends with Tenenbaum, “then the
not so subtle message is that Jewish
Americans, especially Orthodox
Jewish Americans, can never be
trusted within the Department of
Defense. As you can well imagine,
this message is devastating.”
David Tenenbaum’s father, Nathan,
was a Holocaust survivor who died
just prior to the false spying charges
being made 21 years ago. The elder
Tenenbaum many times had warned
his son about pervasive anti-Sem-
itism in the world. “Don’t think it
can’t happen again,” he said.
Attorney Harold said, “We’re hope-
ful that through the senators we can
finally get a remedy to David and
bring a formal end to this whole hor-
rible situation.”
As for now, Tenenbaum waits for
words of redress from his govern-
ment.
“Thank God we were able to find
the right people to help us,” he said.
“I feel that there’s a lot I can give in
terms of work. Being in this atmo-
sphere takes a toll on you.
“I don’t want to fight to work,”
Tenenbaum said. “I would like to get
work done.” •