JERUSALEM – Israel’s attorney-general on May 10 opposed the appointment of the next head of the Mossad spy agency, due to take office in June, in a letter to the Supreme Court shared with the Israeli media.
The court is due to hear multiple petitions against the appointment of Major-General Roman Gofman in the coming days.
Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara’s opposition centres on a case dating back to 2022, in which she says Mr Gofman did nothing to exonerate a teenager arrested for espionage who had, in fact, been secretly recruited by the military at Mr Gofman’s request.
Mr Gofman was a military commander on Israel’s northern border at the time.
According to the attorney-general’s letter, army officers acting “at Gofman’s request” recruited 17-year-old Uri Elmakiyes outside any legal framework to conduct “information gathering and influence” operations online with citizens of enemy countries, mainly Syria.
Unaware that the teenager was acting on behalf of the military, the Shin Bet internal security agency arrested and detained him in isolation for nearly two months before moving him to house arrest for over a year.
Prosecutors eventually dropped all charges against Mr Elmakiyes, following an investigation. He is among those petitioning the Supreme Court against the appointment.
Mr Baharav-Miara accused Mr Gofman of doing nothing to exonerate the young man after his arrest. Mr Gofman initially denied any knowledge of the affair.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu selected Mr Gofman, who currently serves as his military secretary, for the post of Mossad director in December 2025.
An advisory committee for senior appointments was tasked with issuing an opinion on the appointment.
The committee’s chairman, a former Supreme Court judge, opposed the nomination, saying Mr Gofman had lied about the affair during his hearing, raising concerns about his “moral integrity”.
But he was outvoted by the committee’s three other members, who are all known to be supporters of the prime minister.
Mr Netanyahu wrote to the court requesting that the petitions be dismissed, arguing that “responsibility for the security of the state and its citizens rests with the prime minister, and with him alone”.
Mr Netanyahu has refused to assume responsibility for the Oct 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that sparked the two-year war in Gaza, placing the blame on the security establishment. AFP
