Roman Gofman
Director of Mossad from June 2026; former military secretary to the Prime Minister
| Roman Gofman
| |
|---|---|
| Image |  Roman Gofman, photographed in 2017 |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Occupation | Military officer; intelligence official |
| Known for | Director of Mossad from 2 June 2026 |
| Predecessor | David Barnea |
Roman Gofman is an Israeli military officer who has been director of Mossad, and the service's 14th director, since 2 June 2026. He succeeded David Barnea. Before the appointment he was military secretary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu nominated him in December 2025.[1]
Appointment
The Times of Israel reported that Gofman was sworn in at a ceremony in Jerusalem on 2 June 2026, the day after the High Court of Justice rejected petitions against the appointment. At the ceremony Netanyahu described Gofman's mission as ensuring that Iran could no longer pose a nuclear or ballistic-missile threat, saying “that is my directive”. In his own remarks Gofman said a “strategic reversal” against what he called the Iranian axis had changed the regional balance of power, but that “the task is not yet complete” and that “the heart of the Mossad lies in covert operations against its targets.”[1]
| Office | Start | End | Predecessor | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director, Mossad | 2 June 2026 | In office at November 2026 | David Barnea | [1] |
Legal challenge
The same report said the court rejected the petitions by a two-to-one majority, finding that although there had been failures in how Gofman handled the episode at issue he had not deliberately misled an investigation or “abandon[ed]” the petitioner. The petitions arose from a 2022 Arabic-language influence campaign, approved while Gofman commanded the 210th “Bashan” Regional Division in the occupied Golan Heights, which used a then 17-year-old blogger, later a public petitioner against the appointment. An IDF investigation in May 2022 resulted in a disciplinary note on Gofman's record, on the grounds that he had not obtained authorisation for the operation. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel also petitioned, alleging that he had lied to the investigation, which the court did not accept as a basis for blocking the appointment. These are the newspaper's account of the judgment and of the parties' allegations, not independent findings of fact.[1]
The Times of Israel also reported that Barnea had opposed the appointment but attended the swearing-in and wished Gofman luck.[1]