IDF general tied to teen psy-op case appointed next Mossad chief

Benjamin Netanyahu’s military secretary has won approval from a split committee despite previous controversy

An Israeli general linked to a controversy over the use of a teenager in an online influence campaign has been appointed as the next director of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, currently serving as his military secretary, will take over as the country’s top spy chief. Netanyahu described Gofman as a “bold and creative” commander capable of unconventional thinking.

Gofman, a career officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), is widely seen as a close ally of Netanyahu. However, his nomination drew criticism in Israeli media, with some questioning his qualification for the role. First proposed in December, his candidacy underwent a lengthy review by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee following concerns about his conduct.

The committee ultimately gave its approval last week, with three junior members outvoting the chairman, former Supreme Court president Asher Gruni, who opposed the decision.

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Much of the committee’s review centered on the case of Ori Elmakayes, a Jewish Israeli citizen who at the age of 17 was involved in a 2022 information warfare operation run by an IDF unit under Gofman’s command. Elmakayes was later detained for allegedly leaking classified material, but was released without charges after it emerged that the documents had been provided to him by a separate IDF unit.

Elmakayes criticized the committee’s findings, calling them “ridiculous” and arguing that a key witness was not interviewed. Writing on X, he warned that “whoever abandoned a 17-year-old boy – will abandon Mossad agents too.”

The committee concluded that Gofman was unaware of Elmakayes’ age at the time and did not know about his arrest until it became public. Gruni disputed those conclusions, expressing doubt and arguing that even if true, they pointed to failures in leadership.

The committee also noted that some documents related to the case were heavily redacted. Gruni added that his actual dissenting opinion could not be made public due to security restrictions, with only brief remarks included in the report.

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Born in Belarus, Gofman immigrated to Israel with his family at 14 and rose through the ranks of the IDF’s Armored Corps. He is set to replace outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea, whose five-year term ends in late June.

Last month, the New York Times reported that Barnea had presented plans to US and Israeli leadership aimed at inciting a public uprising in Iran to coincide with the two nations’ ongoing bombing campaign, but Mossad did not ultimately succeed.