JERUSALEM — Roman Gofman was approved to lead the Mossad on June 1, 2026, after Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected petitions challenging his appointment. He was set to assume the role of Mossad chief on June 2, 2026, succeeding outgoing Mossad Director David Barnea.
The High Court of Justice ruled by a majority vote, with Justices Ofer Grosskopf and Alex Stein in the majority and Justice Dafna Barak-Erez dissenting. Two petitions had been filed against Gofman’s appointment—one by Ori Elmakayes and the Movement for Integrity in Government, and another by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel and Forum Homat Magen LeIsrael.
Justice Ofer Grosskopf wrote that the Elmakayes affair did not cast an ethical stain on Gofman’s career and did not justify disqualifying him from serving as Mossad chief. He added that there were failures in Gofman’s conduct in the affair, but they did not relate to integrity, which was the focus of the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee.
Gofman’s involvement in the Elmakayes affair dates to early 2022, when he was commanding the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Division. During that time, he instructed Maj. Tzur, an intelligence officer, to contact social media activists focused on Syria for intelligence-gathering and influence efforts. Maj. Tzur transferred materials to Ori Elmakayes for publication over several months with Gofman’s knowledge and approval, though without authorization from official intelligence bodies.
On April 10, 2022, the Shin Bet was alerted that classified information had appeared on Telegram, prompting a security investigation. In a May 2022 phone call, Brig.-Gen. “G” informed Gofman of a sensitive investigation into the transfer of intelligence materials to a Telegram channel and asked if he knew of any connection to “World News.” Gofman denied knowing of any connection to the Telegram channel and said any use of intelligence material was personally approved by him.
Ori Elmakayes, who was 17 in 2022, operated the “World News on Telegram” channel and was arrested on May 24, 2022, later indicted on charges related to secret information. The state withdrew the indictment in December 2023, and it was formally canceled days later. The Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, after reconvening and reviewing new materials—including an IDF inquiry and testimony from Elmakayes and Brig.-Gen. “G”—reaffirmed its support for Gofman by majority vote.
Justice Dafna Barak-Erez dissented from the High Court’s decision, stating that questions remained open and should still be examined before Gofman’s appointment took effect.