In a roughly six-hour hearing broadcast live on Tuesday, a three-judge panel of Israel’s High Court of Justice listened to arguments for and against the appointment of Israel Defense Forces Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman as the next head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
Gofman, who serves as Military Secretary to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a decorated career officer who has served on multiple fronts and was severely wounded fighting Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion.
Gofman is Netanyahu’s pick. His selection was approved by a 3-1 majority in April by the Advisory Committee on Senior Civil Service Appointments, the professional body which reviews such appointments.
However, several left-wing NGOs petitioned the High Court against the appointment, including the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, the Movement for Moral Purity and Forum Homat Magen.
They argue that Gofman is unfit to direct the Mossad, having approved the use of a minor in an Arabic-language influence campaign. The minor, then-17-year-old influencer 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.
Elmakeyes, who is also a petitioner in the case, claimed to the court on Tuesday that Gofman abandoned him to his fate and did nothing to “cut short the ongoing nightmare I experienced.”
Gofman denies that he knew Elmakeyes was working as an agent for his division.
It wasn’t clear by the end of the hearing how the judges would rule. However, Judge Stein said, “The question against Gofman is not whether he ever knew that we’re talking about a minor, rather that he ‘operated’ him knowing he was a minor. And of this, there is no evidence.”
Last week, the three members of the Advisory Committee that voted in favor of Gofman’s appointment, submitted a statement to the court requesting the petitions against Gofman be rejected.
They said they had thoroughly examined all the allegations against him, heard from a number of senior officials, including the IDF chief of staff and the outgoing head of the Mossad, and concluded Gofman acted with integrity.
They said that after reviewing all the classified materials, their opinion was “even strengthened” that they should not disqualify Gofman.
