Falsely accused of espionage, David Tenenbaum is still seeking closure
Shabbos is a day of rest, but on this particular Shabbos in February 1997, the sanctity of the Tenenbaum family’s daytime seudah was rudely shattered by a handful of armed FBI agents. The FBI raided the Tenenbaum home in Southfield, Michigan, seeking evidence to back up allegations that David Tenenbaum, a civilian engineer in the US Army, was spying for Israel.
The agents found nothing of the sort but did confiscate his four-year old daughter’s crayon sketches and David’s music books, including his Shlomo Carlebach songbook.
Back then, Tenenbaum had been working thirteen years at the US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). His main project was to develop a system to protect US fighting forces from lethal armor-piercing weaponry. David was chosen to go to Israel on a scientists and engineer exchange program to learn more about combat vehicle technology. The Shabbos afternoon raid was the culmination of an ugly five-year witch hunt, incited by anti-Semitic co-workers who twisted Tenenbaum’s official contacts with Israeli experts into accusations of espionage.
Six months after the FBI raid, in September 1997, Tenenbaum was completely exonerated from all of the false accusations, but the damage to his career has been irreversible.
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