Netanyahu appoints military secretary Roman Gofman as next Mossad chief

Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed his military secretary, Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, as the next director of Mossad for a five-year term beginning June 2, his office said on Monday.

According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu has signed Gofman’s official appointment letter.

The announcement follows approval from the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, headed by former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis.

Much of the committee’s review focused on a 2022 incident when Gofman was commanding the Israel Defense Forces in the Golan Heights.

During that period, he approved the use of a 17-year-old, Ori Elmakayes, in an Arabic-language influence campaign targeting Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas.

The move later led to the teenager’s prolonged detention after he was accused of publishing classified information.

Gofman has maintained that he was unaware of the teenager’s age and had instructed that only non-classified material be shared for publication on social media.

Elmakayes was held for 18 months before charges were dropped, after it emerged that the classified information he had posted online had been provided to him by intelligence officers within the Israel Defense Forces.

In its decision, three members of the committee concluded that the incident should not disqualify Gofman from leading Mossad. However, in a separate opinion, Asher Grunis recommended that he be deemed unfit for the role.

Born in Belarus, Gofman moved to Israel in 1990 at the age of 14. Over the course of his military career, he rose through the ranks of the IDF Armored Corps, eventually becoming a division commander before transitioning out of combat roles.