Netanyahu defends his pick for Mossad chief; said to blast outgoing head for opposition

David Barnea reportedly said Roman Gofman unfit for the post because he violated IDF procedures in 2022 scandal; AG also opposes appointment; PM claims ‘political considerations’ at play

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed on Monday that he alone gets to pick the next chief of the Mossad spy agency, insinuating that bigotry and elitism are behind opposition to Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman’s appointment for the role.

“Only the prime minister appoints the head of the Mossad,” Netanyahu said in a strident video statement. “The Mossad and the Shin Bet are directly subordinate to the prime minister by law — not the attorney general, not the High Court and not the media.”

Netanyahu’s statement comes amid a High Court hearing about petitions against Gofman’s nomination, which argue that he acted improperly during a 2022 incident while he was serving as an IDF division commander, and is unfit to hold the job.

Gofman, said Netanyahu on Monday, “is a heroic fighter. He is courageous and one of the most highly regarded operational commanders in the IDF.”

He said that Gofman has demonstrated “exceptional leadership” and “out-of-the-box thinking” in Israel’s recent wars.

“He has courage, initiative, determination, and cunning,” said Netanyahu. “But above all, he has independent thinking and supreme responsibility for Israel’s security.”

“Why are they trying to disqualify him?” Netanyahu continued. “Because he’s not part of the clique? Because Roman immigrated from the Soviet Union? Because of political considerations? Because he is my military secretary?”

Gofman, he asserted, will be the next leader of the spy agency.

The statement from Netanyahu came shortly after Channel 13 news reported that the prime minister held a heated conversation Sunday with David Barnea over a letter the outgoing Mossad chief sent to the attorney general expressing opposition to Gofman’s appointment.

According to the Monday report, Netanyahu demanded to receive a copy of the letter that Barnea wrote to the attorney general on the issue.

The network also reported that Barnea testified against Gofman’s appointment to the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee chaired by former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis.

Gofman, who has been serving as Netanyahu’s military secretary, was tapped by the prime minister as the country’s next spy chief last year, and his nomination was approved last month by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee.

But the nomination has been cloaked in controversy, largely centered on a 2022 incident when Gofman was commanding the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Regional Division in the Golan Heights. At the time, Gofman approved the use of a 17-year-old, Ori Elmakayes, for an Arabic-language influence campaign against Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, leading to the teen’s 18-month detention by security authorities and charges of espionage after he was accused of publishing classified information.

Gofman has claimed he did not know how old Elmakayes was, and that he had ordered that only non-classified information be given to him for publication on social media.

“When a commander decides to violate the army’s procedures, and decides to do something he is not supposed to do, it has many implications,” Barnea told the committee, according to Channel 13. “Any official reprimand disqualifies a promotion, certainly a promotion for the head of the Mossad.”

The existence of Barnea’s letter was revealed Sunday in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara filing to the High Court of Justice against Gofman’s appointment to head the Mossad.

According to the Ynet news site, Barnea’s confidential written opinion stated that the head of the Mossad must have an impeccable record due to the sensitivity of its operations overseas, and the fact that they report directly to the prime minister. He viewed Gofman’s handling of Elmakayes as a serious issue, the report said.

Baharav-Miara wrote in her lengthy filing that Gofman’s nomination “suffers from extreme and glaring unreasonableness,” and urged the court to rule against his suitability for the position.

She pointed to three flaws in the committee’s ruling: that the three members who supported Gofman’s appointment did so before reviewing the dissenting opinion of committee head Asher Grunis, that two members were kept from seeing classified documents, and that Elmakayes was not allowed to appear before the committee.

Elmakayes and Telem-the Movement for Integrity in Government filed the petitions to the court against Gofman’s appointment.

“The committee did not conduct a sufficient or exhaustive factual inquiry,” wrote Baharav-Miara, “and its decision appears to be deficient in a manner that undermines the integrity-related aspects of the matter, including the prime minister’s ability to rely upon it in deciding to appoint Gofman as head of the Mossad.”

This alone, she said, “is enough to justify canceling the prime minister’s decision that is the subject of the petitions.”

“The court has no choice but to intervene in the prime minister’s decision regarding Gofman’s appointment as director of the Mossad and to accept the petitions,” Baharav-Miara wrote.

The attorney general said Barnea wrote a confidential letter to be forwarded to the court, laying out the uniqueness of the organization, which is relevant to the manner in which the committee examines the issue of a candidate’s integrity.

In his own position submitted to the High Court on Friday, Netanyahu argued that Gofman’s appointment was a security decision and therefore should be generally exempt from judicial oversight.

Gofman is meant to replace Barnea in June, when his five-year term is set to end. The nomination has drawn criticism from current and former security officials, who have told Hebrew media that Gofman lacks the operational and intelligence background traditionally required to lead the security agency.

He is considered close to Netanyahu, having served as his military secretary for nearly two years. During that time, Gofman traveled on the premier’s behalf for various tasks and oversaw the implementation of the prime minister’s directives in the IDF.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.