Mossad chief Roman Gofman sparks turmoil with outside advisers and new review

Roman Gofman’s entry as head of the Mossad has been accompanied by unusual steps that are stirring concern among senior officials across the agency. According to a report in Maariv, he brought in five outside advisers, none of whom previously served in the Mossad, to reassess the agency’s methods, missions and resource allocation. A source familiar with the matter said, “Since you cannot bring a consulting firm into the Mossad, this is the closest thing.”

The advisers are said to move freely around Mossad headquarters and its various branches, join discussions and receive access to internal work processes. That has unsettled some senior figures, who see it as a breach of the organization’s long-standing secrecy culture. One informed source said the development is infuriating division heads and other senior officials, adding that the outsiders sit in strategic meetings with Gofman and that “no one knows how to digest this” in an institution where “there is no foothold for external factors.”

At the same time, Gofman is working to assign a former senior Mossad officer as a shadow adviser to top officials, to guide decision-makers. He is also pushing for an additional, independent inquiry into the events of October 7, despite existing internal investigations. Members of the adviser group have taken part in those discussions as well, prompting more criticism inside the agency.

Beyond the internal review, Gofman is also reconsidering the Mossad’s overall priorities, with Iran expected to be the central focus. A source close to him said the agency’s main mission is Iran, especially efforts aimed at weakening the regime and dealing with the nuclear threat, and that most of the attention, energy and money will go there. The appointment of “K,” a senior figure from the operations division, as Gofman’s right-hand man and the officer responsible for all operations has also drawn mixed reactions. Still, some former Mossad officials support the shift, saying it is time for an outsider to challenge entrenched assumptions and that Gofman is aggressive, creative and unafraid of “sacred cows.”