According to a report by The Times Of Israel, a high-ranking Israeli military official is under fire following revelations that a teenager was recruited for a clandestine Arabic-language influence campaign, resulting in the minor’s 18-month detention for leaking secrets that were reportedly handed to him by his own handlers.
The case centers on Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, who authorized the involvement of then-17-year-old Ori Elmakayes in a social media psychological operation (PsyOp) targeting Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas.
The operation was designed to sway public opinion across the Middle East using digital influence tactics.
According to reports, Gofman approved the use of Elmakayes to spearhead these efforts. However, the mission spiraled into a legal nightmare when security authorities accused the teenager of publishing classified information online.
Elmakayes was subsequently held in detention for 18 months. The charges were only recently dropped after a startling discovery: the sensitive data he shared had been provided to him directly by intelligence officers within the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Maj. Gen. Gofman has moved to distance himself from the administrative failures of the recruitment, claiming he was unaware he had authorized the use of a minor for such sensitive work.
“Gofman has claimed he did not know how old the teenager was, adding that he had ordered that only non-classified information be given to him for publication on social media.”
The most damning aspect of the case emerged during the investigation into how Elmakayes obtained the secrets that led to his arrest.
While the teen was initially painted as a rogue leaker, evidence suggested he was merely a conduit for the officers overseeing him.
The legal proceedings concluded that:
“The classified information he had published on the internet was fed to him by intelligence officers in the Israel Defense Forces.”
Gofman approved the use of a 17-year-old, Ori Elmakayes, for an Arabic-language influence campaign against Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas, leading to the teen’s prolonged detention by security authorities after he was accused of publishing classified information……..See More
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