Uri Elmakias, who was recruited as a minor by soldiers under Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman during the officer’s command of the 210th “Bashan” Division, sharply criticized the government’s decision to appoint him as the next head of the Mossad, calling the move a “real danger to Israel’s security.”
Elmakias, who was 17 at the time of the incident and later held in detention for more than a year and a half, said Thursday that the general “used me and destroyed my life,” adding: “If he abandoned me, who will stop him from abandoning Mossad personnel if they run into trouble during operations?”
The case was first revealed last year by Haaretz. According to that reporting, Gofman approved an operation in which two intelligence soldiers sent Elmakias classified information and asked him to publish it online as part of an unauthorized influence effort. Elmakias was later questioned by the Shin Bet, held in isolation for about two months and charged with espionage offenses. He ultimately spent more than a year in prison before the charges were dropped. Gofman and the soldiers involved were not criminally investigated, though an IDF internal review resulted in command reprimands.
On Thursday, Elmakias accused him of “abandoning” him once the operation was exposed. “They used me for intelligence gathering, for handling agents in enemy states and for an influence operation targeting terror groups,” he said. “Afterward he denied any connection and left me to face arrest alone.”
He said he endured “physical and mental abuse” during intense interrogations. “I was a 17-year-old kid who acted for the state’s security. My life was ruined in a single day,” he said. “Someone like that cannot serve as head of the Mossad.”
His attorneys, Orit Hayun and Din Kochavi, called the appointment dangerous. They said Elmakias was exploited for intelligence missions and later left to bear the consequences. Even after his acquittal, they said, he suffers from severe trauma. “Someone who used and abandoned a minor should not lead the Mossad,” they said. “Who will prevent him from abandoning Mossad officers if they encounter difficulties in covert operations?”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has submitted the nomination to the senior appointments advisory committee led by former Supreme Court chief justice Asher Grunis. If approved, Gofman would replace current Mossad Director David Barnea in June 2026.