Attorney General Excluded From Mossad Chief's Swearing-In Ceremony

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara will not be present at tomorrow's ceremony marking Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman's formal assuming of command as director of the Mossad, according to a report published Monday evening by i24News. The exclusion represents a striking public rebuke following months of intense legal warfare between the nation's chief legal officer and the incoming intelligence chief.

The decision to omit Baharav-Miara from the guest list appears directly linked to her sustained campaign against Gofman's nomination. Over recent months, the Attorney General deployed an array of legal mechanisms in attempts to block the appointment, culminating in a forceful Supreme Court submission that accused Gofman of dishonesty during a sensitive security investigation.

In her formal position filed with the High Court, Baharav-Miara argued that Gofman's conduct in the Elmakayes affair revealed fundamental character flaws that should disqualify him from leading Israel's premier intelligence agency. She asserted that his failure to disclose critical information during a criminal security investigation caused harm to truth-finding processes and violated the rights of Ori Elmakayes, a teenager wrongly imprisoned for eighteen months before charges were dropped.

The Attorney General further contended that Gofman withheld truthful responses when questioned about contact with a Telegram channel, even after the channel's operator had been arrested. Her submission urged the justices to strike down the appointment entirely and mandate a fresh review of the government's decision.

Supreme Court Overrules Attorney General

Despite Baharav-Miara's vigorous opposition, the Supreme Court rejected petitions against Gofman's appointment on Monday by majority vote. Justices Ofer Grosskopf and Alex Stein voted to dismiss the challenges, clearing the final legal obstacle to his taking office. Justice Daphne Barak-Erez dissented, arguing that outstanding questions warranted further examination.

In their ruling, the justices determined that allegations of Gofman deliberately misleading military authorities or exploiting a minor in the Elmakayes case were not substantiated by evidence presented to the appointments committee. The court further rejected claims that Gofman abandoned operatives who acted under his authority, characterizing such assertions as fundamentally flawed interpretations of the affair.

Justice Yitzhak Amit delivered particularly sharp criticism of the Attorney General's approach. He stated that he rejected with both hands the improper attempt to transform the proceedings into a trial of Gofman's character, noting his difficulty understanding the Attorney General's position that reviewing the outgoing Mossad chief's opinion on Gofman's fitness would assist the court's judicial review.

The Elmakayes affair centered on a young man arrested as a minor in May 2022 on suspicion of passing classified information through a Telegram channel he operated. Defense attorneys successfully demonstrated that the published material originated from openly available Syrian Telegram channels rather than classified Israeli sources. The state is now in advanced negotiations to compensate Elmakayes approximately 3.8 million shekels for his wrongful detention and prosecution.

Following Monday's court decision, Baharav-Miara issued a statement emphasizing that her office had examined the case professionally and formulated positions reflecting its legal assessment based on the evidentiary record. She noted that while the court rejected her position, the legal establishment respects judicial rulings and will provide all necessary assistance to Maj. Gen. Gofman in executing his critical responsibilities as Mossad director.

Gofman's Path to Leadership

Gofman, age 49, has been serving as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's military secretary and is set to replace outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea. His nomination in December sparked controversy primarily due to his lack of prior Mossad operational experience, a departure from traditional appointment patterns for the intelligence agency's top position.

The exclusion of the Attorney General from tomorrow's installation ceremony marks an extraordinary breach in protocol for such a senior state occasion. The decision signals that institutional tensions between the legal establishment and the intelligence community have reached levels where normal diplomatic courtesies no longer apply.

The ceremony will proceed as scheduled, with Gofman formally assuming command of Israel's legendary intelligence service amid one of the most contentious appointment processes in the agency's history.