A state committee overseeing senior appointments decided Wednesday to seek additional testimony before ruling on the proposed appointment of Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman as the next head of the Mossad, following questions tied to a past military case.
Gofman, the military secretary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared before the Grunis Committee, which is authorized to approve the appointment. After his testimony, committee members said further clarification was needed regarding the case of Uri Elmakias, a teenager who was allegedly recruited for an online influence operation when Gofman commanded the Bashan Division, also known as the 210th Division, in the Golan Heights.
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Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Prime Minister's Office)
ynet has learned that the committee decided it should also hear the version of events from the IDF, which conducted an internal review of the matter. A senior Military Intelligence officer is expected to appear before the panel in the coming days.
As first reported last year by Haaretz, two intelligence officers were authorized during Gofman’s tenure as division commander to enlist Elmakias, who was 17 at the time. The officers allegedly provided him with classified information and asked him to publish it on social media pages he managed in an effort to carry out what was described as an influence operation, despite lacking proper authorization.
Elmakias was later questioned by the Shin Bet, held in isolation for about two months and eventually charged with espionage offenses. He was sentenced to more than a year in prison. Gofman and his subordinates were not criminally investigated in the affair and were instead questioned as part of an internal military probe, which ended with command-level reprimands.
During a separate inquiry, a brigadier general identified only as Brig. Gen. G questioned Gofman about whether he had activated the teenager. Gofman denied any involvement and said he was unfamiliar with Elmakias and that no influence operations were conducted by the division. Following those statements, the head of the operations division submitted an affidavit to the Shin Bet denying any military connection to the teenager.
Testimony from the senior intelligence officer, reportedly from the information security branch, could prove decisive for the Grunis Committee, which is examining issues of ethical conduct.
Also appearing before the committee Wednesday was IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who praised Gofman as “a true combat officer who seeks engagement.” Mossad Director David Barnea also addressed the panel, saying he was impressed by Gofman’s work as military secretary to the prime minister.
Netanyahu appeared before the committee on Sunday, presenting his reasons for nominating Gofman to lead the Mossad and commending his performance in his current role.