Israel’s Supreme Court rejected two petitions against the appointment of Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman as the next head of the Mossad, delivering a serious blow to the Attorney General’s position.
The ruling was issued by a majority opinion from Justices Ofer Grosskopf and Alex Stein. Justice Daphne Barak-Erez dissented, saying that remaining open questions should continue to be examined and that a conditional order and interim order should be issued. She stressed, however, that this did not constitute a finding against Gofman.
The majority ruled that Gofman’s conduct in connection with the Almakaies affair did not cast moral doubt on him and certainly did not disqualify him from serving as Mossad chief.
The court found that the claims that Gofman knowingly used a minor, or deliberately misled IDF officials regarding the role of Division 210 in the affair, were not proven by the evidence presented to the committee. It also rejected the claim that Gofman “abandoned” people who acted on his behalf, saying this accusation was based on a mistaken description of the affair.