Netanyahu praised Roman Gofman as bold and creative after appointing him Mossad chief, expressing confidence he will strengthen Israel’s security.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday approved Military Secretary Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman as the next head of the Mossad.
Gofman will take over from David Barnea as the country’s top spy chief on June 2, following Barnea’s completion of his five-year term.
Netanyahu commended Gofman after the official announcement, stating, “He [Gofman] is an outstanding officer – bold and creative – who has demonstrated throughout the war a perspective outside the box and impressive resourcefulness.”
He also wished Gofman success in his new role as head of Mossad, expressing confidence that he would make a significant contribution to Israel’s security.
Gofman also received praise fromIDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who stated, “I definitely think he has had a glorious military service career, an excellent and worthy person in every respect.
Zamir even went on to say that if Gofman had not taken the role as head of the Mossad, he could have replaced his own position as IDF chief of staff.
‘The appointment of Gofman is – ridiculous’
Barnea, on the other hand, strongly opposed Gofman’s appointment and said in regard to the announcement that Gofman is ‘someone who abuses his power.’
Ori Elmakayes, who has had a long- standing public feud with Gofman, asserted, “The decision of the Senior Appointments Committee to approve the appointment of Roman Gofman is ridiculous.”
He added, “The appointment of Roman Gofman is a real danger to the Mossad and to the security of the State of Israel – I will not stop here, and I will fight to disqualify Gofman’s appointment.”
Elmakayes was detained by Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) when he was 17 after two intelligence officers under Gofman’s command passed him classified information to publish on the Telegram pages he ran as part of an attempt to create an “influence operation” against the enemy that was not approved by authorized security bodies.
Following the incident, Elmakayes claimed Gofman had ‘abandoned him’ in the fallout of that operation, and reflected on the incident in his reaction to Gofman’s appointment, saying, “Whoever abandoned a 17-year-old boy – will abandon Mossad agents too.”
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this story.