Roman Gofman Approved as New Mossad Director

Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, the military secretary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was approved Sunday to become the next director of the Mossad. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office, Gofman will start a five-year term on June 2, following the signing of his official appointment letter by Netanyahu.

The appointment was authorized by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, led by former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis. Gofman, an IDF Major-General, will replace the incumbent director, David Barnea.

The committee’s review focused on a 2022 incident that occurred whereas Gofman was commanding the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Regional Division in the Golan Heights. In his capacity as commander, Gofman approved the recruitment of 17-year-old Ori Elmakayes to conduct an Arabic-language influence campaign directed at Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran.

Following the campaign, Elmakayes was detained by security authorities for 18 months after being accused of publishing classified information on social media. The charges were eventually dropped when it was revealed that the classified details published by the teenager had been provided to him by intelligence officers within the Israel Defense Forces.

Gofman has denied knowledge of the teenager’s age at the time of the operation and asserted that he had specifically ordered that only non-classified information be provided for publication.

The selection of Gofman was met with opposition from several entities, including the chair of the senior civil service appointments committee, civil society organizations, and the current head of the Mossad. Reports indicate that the approval was granted despite allegations that Gofman provided false testimony during an IDF probe into the influence campaign.

Gofman is scheduled to officially assume leadership of the intelligence agency on June 2.