Israeli PM picks army general with no intelligence experience as next Mossad chief

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday named Major General Roman Gofman as the next head of Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence agency. Gofman, currently Netanyahu's military secretary, will succeed David Barnea when his five-year term ends in June 2026.

Born in Belarus in 1976, Gofman moved to Israel at the age of 14. He joined the military's armoured corps in 1995 and built a long career in the army. During the Gaza war triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, he commanded the national infantry training centre and was seriously injured in clashes with militants in Sderot, a city near the Gaza border.

In April 2024, Gofman joined Netanyahu's office as military secretary. Like David Zini, recently appointed head of Shin Bet, Gofman comes from the military rather than the agency he is now set to lead. Netanyahu's appointments highlighted officers close to his nationalist and religious Zionist leanings.

Though Gofman does not wear a yarmulke as practicing religious Jews do, he studied at Ely yeshiva, a right-wing religious Zionist school located in a settlement in the West Bank. Critics, including Haaretz columnist Uri Misgav, described him as "unfit to head Mossad" due to his lack of intelligence background, noting that loyalty to Netanyahu appeared to be the main factor in his appointment.

Netanyahu's office defended Gofman, calling him "an officer of great merit" whose wartime appointment as military secretary "proved his exceptional professional capabilities".

"Gofman's appointment as the prime minister's military secretary in the midst of the war proved that he possesses exceptional professional capabilities, from his rapid entry into the role to his immediate and significant involvement in the seven arenas of the war," Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu's office as saying.

"The prime minister believes that Maj. Gen. Gofman is the most qualified and suitable candidate to serve as Mossad director and wishes him great success in this important role," the PMO added.

Mossad, considered one of the best intelligence services in the world, did not bear responsibility for the intelligence failure of October 7, as Palestinian territories have traditionally fallen outside its operational remit.

Chiefs of Shin Bet and Aman resigned over the lapses. The Mossad, however, has distinguished itself in ongoing multi-front conflicts, contributing to the 2024 killing of Hezbollah's general staff and targeting Iranian armed forces during the 12-day Israel-Iran confrontation in June.

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