Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected the petitions on Monday against the appointment of Israel Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman as new head of the Mossad.
The decision clears the way for Gofman to take up his position on Tuesday. He will serve for five years.
Gofman, who currently serves as military secretary to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is the prime minister’s pick. His selection was approved by a 3-1 majority in April of the Advisory Committee on Senior Civil Service Appointments, the professional body that reviews such appointments.
However, several left-wing NGOs petitioned the High Court against the appointment. These include the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, the Movement for Moral Purity and Forum Homat Magen.
They argued that Gofman was unfit to direct the Mossad, having approved the use of a minor in an Arabic-language influence campaign. The minor, then-17-year-old Ori Elmakayes, was fed classified information, which he publicized on the Internet.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), unaware that he was recruited by the IDF’s 210th Division, then headed by Gofman, arrested Elmakeyes for espionage. The saga lasted about 18 months, during which Elmakeyes was held in various forms of detention, including isolation for two months, before it became clear that he was telling the truth about working on behalf of the IDF. At that point, the charges were dropped.
Gofman denied that he knew Elmakeyes was working as an agent for his division.
Last month, the three members of the Advisory Committee who voted in favor of Gofman’s appointment submitted a statement to the court requesting that the petitions against him be rejected.
They said that they had thoroughly examined all the allegations against Gofman, heard from a number of senior officials, including the IDF chief of staff and the outgoing head of the Mossad, and concluded that Gofman had acted with integrity.
Gofman, through his attorney, submitted his own response the same day, asserting that the petitioners were seeking to “replace the democratic system of government” by taking from the elected prime minister the responsibility for the management of the state’s security and placing it in the hands of the High Court.
Gofman also highlighted his 30 years of distinguished service in the IDF and his valor on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel, when he engaged the enemy and was seriously wounded.
