Netanyahu taps military secretary Roman Gofman as next Mossad chief in surprise move

Gofman is multitalented and “has demonstrated creativity, initiative, stratagem, a deep understanding of the enemy, profound discretion, and the capability to safeguard secrets,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

“These qualities, as well as his leadership and courage, were evident at the outbreak of the [Israel-Hamas War], when he rushed from his home and fought in person against Hamas terrorists in the Western Negev, where he was severely wounded,” it said.

Netanyahu said Gofman, who has never been in the Mossad, had worked closely with the Mossad and all the other defense agencies on his behalf as military secretary.

The choice of Gofman was a surprise, as the leading candidate to replace Barnea was expected to be “A,” a senior Mossad commander.

Even “A” would not have been a traditional pick for Mossad director. The last three Mossad directors – Tamir Pardo (2011-2016), Yossi Cohen (2016-2021), and Barnea – had served as the deputy director before being appointed to the top post.

There were divergent views among Mossad officials regarding “A,” the Post was told.

Nevertheless, “A” had serious support within the Mossad, the Post had also learned. It appeared that some had calculated that it was better to support “A,” even though he was not the deputy director, given that he was from within the agency.

There appeared to be concerns that Netanyahu would try to appoint an outsider, as he recently did when naming David Zini, another IDF major-general, to head the Shin Bet, even though Zini had never served in the domestic intelligence agency.

Some Mossad sources said Barnea had pushed out other potential candidates from the spy agency, paving the way for an outside hire.

During the 2023 judicial overhaul crisis and since the October 7 massacre and the ensuing Middle East war, Netanyahu was said to be repeatedly frustrated with the heads of the IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad for not toeing the line on various controversial issues.

Former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Herzi Halevi, former Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, and Barnea all allowed many of their officers to protest the judicial overhaul, provided they did so in uniform.

While this was within their free-speech rights, it was said to have infuriated Netanyahu.

The three chiefs repeatedly suggested ending the war earlier than Netanyahu would agree to – including a willingness to concede to Hamas on certain terms that Netanyahu would not – in exchange for an earlier hostage-return deal.

This annoyed Netanyahu even more, and many have suggested this was a large part of why he appointed an outsider, such as Zini, who might feel more beholden to him.

Barnea was generally viewed most favorably by Netanyahu among the top three chiefs, and the Mossad director tried harder than the others to avoid any public disagreements with him. Nevertheless, the choice of Gofman suggested that Netanyahu still viewed Barnea as acting too independently, and he preferred a complete outsider who would back him on controversial issues, even if it meant conflict with officials within the Mossad.

Gofman is far from the first outsider to run the Mossad.

Then-prime minister Ariel Sharon appointed Meir Dagan, who had been part of the IDF high command, as an outsider to run the Mossad from 2002 to 2011, while encouraging the agency to be more aggressive, and he was considered one of the agency’s most successful directors.

Acting prime minister Shimon Peres appointed Danny Yatom, a member of the IDF high command, to lead the Mossad from 1996 to 1998. Yatom had to resign mid-term due to a failed assassination attempt of then Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal that became public.

Both Dagan and Yatom, however, held more senior positions than Gofman, serving in multiple posts as major-generals. Gofman is just more than 18 months into his first major-general position, a role in which officers typically serve for about three years.

Both Zini and Gofman were viewed as outsiders even among the IDF high command. Zini was headed toward retirement if he had not received the Shin Bet appointment and had never served in one of the high command’s more celebrated posts.

There were tensions between Gofman and former IDF chiefs Gadi Eisenkot (2015-2019) and Halevi (2023-March 2025), and there have reportedly been some tensions between him and current IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir.

Furthermore, Mossad chiefs who were closer to Netanyahu, as is Gofman, who is coming straight from working with Netanyahu on a daily basis, have had freer hands and wider support for new expensive programs than directors with less close relations.

Gofman’s appointment to the role was to be presented to the Advisory Committee for Appointments to Senior Positions, which is led by former chief justice Asher Grunis, later on Thursday.

He was briefly under investigation for allegedly managing an operation in which he used an underage 17-year-old to spread and leak information about psychological warfare against Israeli adversaries. The minor was extensively interrogated by Shin Bet and later indicted for allegedly leaking state secrets to the enemy.

Although Gofman managed aspects of the operation and was allegedly illegally using a minor for operations that require having reached the age of 18, from the vantage point of what Gofman knew, his actions were definitely in Israel’s national interests and at most were a disciplinary violation, for which he did receive a letter of censure in his file, sources told the Post.

Gofman’s supporters said the case had merely shown he was willing to take risks to achieve Israel’s interests against difficult adversaries, and that all such operations can go sideways, but that they prefer risk-takers over officials who are not bold enough.

The Prime Minister’s Office listed Gofman’s credentials, including that he had served as a “fighter and commander in the Armored Corps [and as] a battalion commander in the 75th Battalion in the 7th Brigade.”

Additionally, Gofman was an officer in the 36th Division, the Etzion Brigade, and the 7th Brigade, it said.

Furthermore, Gofman was the commander of the 210th Division, the National Ground Forces Training Center, and a senior officer in COGAT, it added.

Gofman has been in his current role as the prime minister’s military secretary since May 2024, including involvement in Israel’s successful operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, the military forces of the fallen Syrian Assad regime, and Iran.