Mossad Falls Victim to Netanyahu’s Desperation
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Meir Dagan
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The article compares Gofman's appointment to Dagan's 2002 selection as the last outsider to lead Mossad. Understanding Dagan's legendary counterterrorism career and his transformation of Mossad provides crucial context for evaluating whether this precedent truly applies
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Menachem Begin
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The article credits Begin with establishing the tradition of keeping intelligence chiefs in office across political transitions. His role as Israel's first Likud PM and his approach to intelligence agencies directly contrasts with Netanyahu's current actions
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Shin Bet
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The article discusses Netanyahu's parallel politicization of Shin Bet alongside Mossad. Understanding Shin Bet's domestic security role, its history of independence, and its relationship to Israeli democracy illuminates the broader pattern of institutional capture described
First it was Shin Bet.
And now the Mossad will soon have a new, partisan head—and that’s not good news for the already fragile and flawed Israeli democracy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to appoint Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, his military secretary, as the 14th head of the nation’s elite foreign espionage agency is a continuation of his politicization and takeover of the entire intelligence community. It is also an expression of no confidence in the Mossad’s 7,000 employees, among whom Netanyahu did not find anyone worthy of leading the organization.
In that sense, Netanyahu is following in Donald Trump’s footsteps by appointing his own loyalists. But unlike in the United States—where senior appointments have long been tied to personal and partisan considerations—the Israeli tradition is that the heads of the intelligence agencies serve the state rather than its leader, and remain in office even when a prime minister is replaced by a political rival. From 1976 until Trump arrived in Washington, the FBI’s director had a 10-year term as well, and the CIA was led by intelligence professionals. Now they, too, are rank partisans.
Gofman is expected to assume the position in about six months, when the current Mossad chief, David (“Dadi”) Barnea, completes his five-year term.
The new appointment also contains a measure of disrespect toward Barnea, who asked Netanyahu to appoint someone from within the organization and recommended two candidates, whose names cannot be revealed publicly under Israeli law.
This is not the first time an outsider has been appointed to head the Mossad. There have already been five such appointments since 1963. The last outsider was IDF General Meir Dagan, a legendary counterterrorism soldier, who was chosen in 2002 by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to lead the agency. In that case as well, Sharon, too, was accused of promoting a close associate. (Dagan had been his 2001 campaign manager.)
And yet, there is a major difference between then and now. Over the years, the Mossad —like the domestic security service Shin Bet—underwent a gradual transformation from agencies serving the political leadership of the ruling left wing government, which ruled Israel from 1948
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