Key panel said set to probe Netanyahu’s Mossad chief pick over social media op

The Senior Appointments Advisory Committee has reportedly decided to examine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nominee for Mossad chief, Roman Gofman, over his involvement in the use of a minor for a so-called influence operation while serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

The committee, chaired by former president of the Supreme Court Asher Grunis, is reviewing Gofman’s conduct as part of the vetting process for his appointment as the next head of Mossad, the Ynet news site first reported on Thursday.

Gofman, currently serving as Netanyahu’s military secretary, reportedly appeared before the panel on Wednesday to address the affair. The committee has since decided to summon a senior Military Intelligence officer involved in probing the case, according to Ynet.

Members of the panel were “astonished” by Gofman’s testimony about his past, sources familiar with the details told Channel 12 news later on Thursday. According to the report, the committee will find it difficult to approve the appointment.

The Haaretz daily reported last year that while commanding the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Regional Division in the Golan Heights, Gofman approved the use of a 17-year-old, Ori Elmakayes, for an Arab-language influence campaign against Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, leading to the teen’s prolonged detention by security authorities after he was accused of publishing classified information.

Gofman has claimed he did not know how old the teenager was, adding that he had ordered that only non-classified information be given to him for publication on social media. Elmakayes was held in detention for 18 months before the charges were dropped, after it emerged that classified information he had published on the internet had been fed to him by intelligence officers in the Israel Defense Forces.

Netanyahu announced earlier this month that he intends to appoint Gofman to replace outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea, whose five-year term is set to end in June. The nomination has drawn criticism from current and former security officials, who tell Haaretz that Gofman lacks the operational and intelligence background traditionally required to lead the security agency.

Born in Belarus, Gofman moved to Israel in 1990 at age 14 with his family. During his military career, he rose through the IDF Armored Corps, becoming a division commander before moving out of combat roles.

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

The appointment of a military general to head the Mossad is rare but not unprecedented.

Meir Dagan, a major general who served in the military between 1963 and 1996, was appointed in 2002 to head the spy agency, where he served until 2011. Danny Yatom, who also served in the IDF between 1963 and 1996 and was a military secretary to the prime minister, became Mossad chief immediately after the end of his army service, heading the intelligence agency until 1998.