Netanyahu denies former Air Force chief was slated for top spy post

The Prime Minister’s Office denied reports on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was considering former Air Force commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Ido Nehushtan to head the Mossad, Israel’s famed spy agency.

Earlier Sunday, sources involved in the process told the Ynet news site that Nehushtan has “a very serious chance” of being appointed to the coveted post when current head Tamir Pardo steps down in January.

Having met with a number of candidates, Netanyahu was reportedly leaning towards Nehushtan. But top brass in the espionage service criticized the possibility the prime minister may pick an outsider rather than one of the three current or former Mossad deputy chiefs who are vying for the role.

A statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office rushed to deny the report, saying that Nehushtan’s appointment for the position “is not on the table.”

Nehushtan stepped down as commander of the Israel Air Force in May after holding the position for four years. During his 37 years in an IDF uniform, he served as a fighter pilot flying A-4 Skyhawks and F-4 Phantoms in the late seventies, then moved up the ranks to command the 140th Squadron. Between 2000 and 2008, he served in top strategic planning roles, including as commander of the Air Intelligence Group and the Air force Planning Directorate.

One senior Mossad source told Ynet that if Nehushtan were to be chosen it would be considered “a slap in the face” to the organization.

“With all due respect to Nehushtan, his military management abilities, his successful term as head of the Air Force and his celebrated family history [Nehushtan’s father Yaakov Nehushtan was a commander in the pre-state Etzel paramilitary group], he is ignorant of at least 99 percent of the Mossad’s activities,” the source said.

“I cannot understand why the prime minister would chose him over candidates who he himself has said are appropriate for the role, are well known in the organization and have overseen top level operations for years.”

The Mossad has had 11 chiefs since its founding: six career officers in the clandestine service and five former army generals.

Unlike most security appointments, the decision is Netanyahu’s alone, as the Mossad operates under the direct authority of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Other candidates include two former and the current deputy heads of the agency: National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen, Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Ministry director general Ram Ben-Barak and “N,” the current deputy chief.

Yossi Cohen was born in Jerusalem to a modern Orthodox family. They lived in Katamon, near the Netanyahus. As a Mossad case officer, he was charged with recruiting and handling spies — the very heart of any clandestine organization.

Cohen, who no longer wears a skullcap, rose up through the ranks, commanding the Tzomet department, in charge of all case officers, and serving as the deputy head of the Mossad from 2011-2013, when he was appointed head of the NSC.

Cohen’s primary challenger from within the Mossad is Ram Ben-Barak. A native of Israel’s first moshav, Nahalal, Ben-Barak, a former deputy head of the Mossad prior to Cohen, is currently the director general of the Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Ministry.

Ben-Barak served in the army’s top commando unit, Sayeret Matkal, before joining the Mossad and rising through the ranks in the technology branches of the agency’s operational units. The Yedioth Ahronoth daily revealed last year that he was one of the combatants arrested in a foreign country in the 1990s.

Ben-Barak later was given command of Caesarea, an operational unit that reportedly operates in target, or enemy, countries, trailing suspects, eliminating enemies and occasionally maintaining contact with Mossad combatants living under cover.

The final candidate, known only as “N” due to security considerations, is the current deputy head of the organization, having serving under Pardo since 2011. Before being appointed deputy head of the agency, he served for many years as head of the Mossad’s Technology Unit, and was considered one of Israel’s experts in the use of modern technology in espionage.

Mitch Ginsburg contributed to this report.