When a commander decides to bypass military procedures or the law, it has very serious repercussions. A source added that observations at the command level carry "immense importance" and can affect future career progression, including appointments to senior positions. He also noted that such observations are rare and highly significant, explaining that in a similar case where a similar remark was issued, the officer in question ended up resigning. In turn, Gofman's appointment received the support of Chief of Staff Eyal Zamer, who described him as an "excellent" officer with a distinguished career, stating that he does not see the incident as dangerous. The advisory committee approved Gofman's appointment by a majority, despite the opposition of its chairman, former Supreme Court President Asher Grunis, who objected to the nomination on ethical grounds related to the incident. Who is Roman Gofman? Netanyahu nominated Gofman for the position of head of Mossad in December 2023. Gofman was born in Belarus in 1976. He came to Israel at the age of fourteen. He joined the Israeli Army in 1995 in the armored corps. He was appointed military attaché to Netanyahu's office in April 2024 after being injured during battles with Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. At that time, Gofman was commanding the National Infantry Training Center. Gofman will replace the current head of Mossad, David Barnea, who will complete his five-year term in June this year. According to the Israeli site i24news, Gofman has held numerous operational and command positions in the Israeli Army, including: a fighter and commander in the armored corps, commander of a battalion in the 75th Battalion of the 7th Brigade, operations officer in the "Gaash" formation (36th Division), commander of the "Etsion" Brigade, commander of the "Haban" Division (210), commander of the National Ground Training Center, head of the Government's Operations Staff in the regions. Israeli media reports stated that the head of Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, opposed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's choice of General Roman Gofman as his successor to head the Israeli intelligence agency. According to details conveyed by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper from the advisory committee that reviewed the nomination, Barnea expressed his opposition to appointing Gofman as his successor, citing concerns related to a previous disciplinary remark at the command level. Barnea, who is set to step down in June, stated that "any remark at the command level should disqualify a candidate from promotion, and certainly from the position of head of Mossad." He referred to an incident that occurred during Gofman's command of Division 210, where a 17-year-old Israeli named Ori Elmakaies was used as an intelligence source in an influence operation, outside the standard procedures of Unit 504, the army's human intelligence unit. At the time, Gofman received a disciplinary remark from the then-commander of the Northern Command, Amir Parham. According to the committee's summary, Barnea acknowledged that he was not fully aware of all the details of the case, but he raised broader concerns about deviations from approved procedures in intelligence operations. Barnea told the committee, according to its summary: "Dealing with sources is a profession. There is only one unit in the army that does this.
