The High Court of Justice on Monday rejected petitions calling for the annulment of the government’s appointment of Roman Gofman as the new head of the Mossad, as well as the allegation that he acted in a manner that violated the required standards of ethical conduct for senior state officials.

The court determined two-to-one that although there were failures with how Gofman handled a controversial incident from 2022 at the center of the petitions against him, he did not deliberately mislead an investigation into the affair or “abandon” the individual around whom the incident revolves.

The ruling brings to an end a tempestuous legal process that saw numerous cabinet ministers and coalition MKs strongly criticize the High Court for even hearing the case.

Justice Daphne Barak Erez was in the minority in her opinion that the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, which evaluated Gofman’s candidacy, had not fully established that there was no ethical violation in his conduct. Erez said she would have sent the matter back to the committee for further review of the problematic manner in which Gofman handled the incident in question, if her position had been accepted.ka

Notably, Justice Alex Stein for the majority was highly critical of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who supported the petitions‘ request to annul Gofman’s appointment, and said he found it “exceedingly difficult” to understand elements of her position.

Ori Elmakayes, the individual at the center of the allegations against Gofman, said that he accepted the court’s decision not to intervene, and that he believed Gofman would act with greater restraint as a result of the legal battle he waged against his appointment.

Gofman is set to take up the position of Mossad director on Tuesday at a swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to select Gofman, who was his military secretary, as Mossad chief was beset by allegations of wrongdoing over an incident during his time as commander of the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Regional Division in the Golan Heights.

In 2022, Gofman approved the use of Elmakayes, then 17, for an Arabic-language influence campaign against........

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