Danielle Solzman
The Bibi Files is not a good look for current Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, currently under indictment and facing trial.
In a perfect world, Prime Minister Netanyahu would resign. Alas, this is not a perfect world and Netanyahu, under criminal indictment since November 2019, just keeps filing motions to delay his corruption trial. Going into the US premiere during DOC NYC and the Oscar-qualifying run in LA, Netanyahu is facing charges of fraud and breach of trust in two cases and bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in a third. His trial began in May 2020 and after many delays, he’s finally taking the stand. We’ll see what the court ends up deciding.
I need to stress this first and foremost because it informs how I viewed the film: I am a Zionist but I am also anti-Bibi and anti-Kahanist. Bibi should have followed former prime minister Ehud Olmert in doing the right thing by stepping down. Instead, he decided to hold on to power as he is continuing to hold onto power rather than call for early elections. That’s why watching the film is so frustrating. Not because of any choices that the filmmakers make but because of the fact that Netanyahu is still in power even though he should resign. I cannot stress it enough. Much like Donald Trump in the US, Netanyahu has an addiction with power. It is because of this that he consistently refuses to do the right thing. Nobody is above the law, not even Netanyahu.
This is a film that is not antisemitic, anti-Zionist, or anti-Israel. I might have my issues with the film quoting Hamas numbers without differentiating between terrorists and civilians but that’s the only issue. If the film is anti-anything, it is anti-Bibi and anti-Kahanist and there’s nothing wrong with that. Listen, I want the war to end BUT it will end after the hostages are released. Whether this happens sooner than later, I don’t know. I feel for the hostage families–their government has failed them by not securing their loved ones’ release yet. However, it should be noted that the blame also falls on Hamas for invading Israel in the first place and taking hostages. If they did not take hostages, there would be no war. Hamas needs to lay down their weapons and release the hostages!
What surprises me is how Alex Gibney got his hands on the interrogation videos. Who leaked them?!? What I can tell you from watching: the interrogation videos are the most damning by far. In theory, it would end anybody’s political career on the spot, what with the gift-giving and quid pro quo favors in both media and business. One would say the same thing about an American president starting an insurrection. Either the Netanyahus or their close friends and benefactors are lying. I’d go with the former rather than the latter. At some point, the Netanyahu family needs to own up to it and be held accountable for their actions. They are very consistent in their refusals
The Netanyahus are not the only one that gets a bad look here. Regency Enterprises founder Arnon Milchan even admits during the interrogation that “if this gets out, I’m ruined.” He only has himself to blame! It’s already bad enough that he gifted jewelry to Sara and that Bibi lied about it. Meanwhile, Netanyahu had to personally intervene with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel as well as then-Secretary of State John Kerry to get Milchan’s visa issues taken care of.
Some of the videos feature interrogations with Sheldon Adelson and Miriam Adelson. Sheldon died in January 2021 but the Adelsons were major supporters of Israel and the Republican Party. At one point during the interrogation, he throws the Netanyahus under the bus, saying he doesn’t think that he’ll continue the friendship with them. He also said that Israel would be better off without Sara Netanyahu being nosy in politics. Meanwhile, Miriam says that owning a casino license means that they can’t do anything illegal.
The Bibi Files weaves in the interrogation videos with archival footage of Netanyahu’s earlier career and his rise to power. He is currently in office for the third time but his second time lasted over twelve years. As of now, Netanyahu has been prime minister longer than David Ben-Gurion. Investigative journalist Raviv Drucker isn’t just one of the talking heads but one of the film’s producers. If his comments aren’t enough, you have a former prime minister in Ehud Olmert and a number Netanyahu associates and advisors. A former policy advisor to Shimon Peres, Nimrod Novik, offers his own observations about Netanyahu. Among the most damning, of course, are how journalists have lost their jobs through Yair Netanyahu intervening with Walla ownership for better coverage.
Speaking of Yair, his media obsession is no different than his father’s. However, they say everything is leftist. It shows how far to the right he’s gone. Hadas Klein, a former assistant to Arnon Milchan, describes the younger Netanyahu as being dictatorial right-wing. The elder Netanyahu is not that far to the right-wing even though he welcomed far-right-wing bigots into his coalition in order to stay in power. Anyway, Yair is a 24/7 news junkie and doesn’t work. He’s been staying stateside during the war, driving up the budget for his security protection.
Everyone noticed how things changed in Bibi’s ego during the mid-2010s. He was already in power for too long and the power no doubt started getting to him. Nir Hefetz, a former advisor, felt that the 2015 election victory is when Bibi started to deteriorate. That’s when he started to become more authoritarian in nature.
As the calendar moves towards 2023, Jewish terrorists Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir joined Netanyahu’s coalition in his latest attempt to regain the Prime Minister’s Office. Centrist parties abandoned Netanyahu during his second term. As such, he had to depend on the far-right to get him back into the PMO. As such, the current coalition is the most far-right government in Israeli history. It is a shanda but Israeli citizens started protesting weekly once the government announced its plans to reform the judiciary. Netanyahu knew that reforming the judiciary was the only thing that could get him out of the trial and also allow the government to annex the West Bank aka Judea and Samaria.
The Bibi Files also makes note of Netanyahu weakening the PA by allowing Qatar to send $35 million monthly to Hamas. Oh yeah, there is a document in writing in case Netanyahu ever lied about it. Regardless, some $1 billion was sent to Hamas. And where did the money go? Tunnels, rockets, who knows. Keeping your friends close and enemies closer in this situation probably wasn’t the way. While the majority of the film is about the interrogations, it does not ignore October 7 and where things stand right now. There’s a moment in the film where we’re watching footage from October 7 and all the interviewees are sitting there in silence. As Nimrod Novik says, the hostages should come first and foremost, above any other objective of the war. Will military pressure lead to a deal? What all does total victory entail? Is there any plan for the day-after?
The Bibi Files is the documentary that Benjamin Netanyahu does not want you to watch. Unfortunately, American distributors were hesitant to touch it. As such, most people that want to watch the film will have to wait for the Jolt release in December.
DIRECTOR: Alexis Bloom
FEATURING: Raviv Drucker, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sara Netanyahu, Yair Netanyahu, Nimrod Novik, Ami Ayalon, Nir Hefetz, Meni Neftali, Gili Schwartz, Ehud Olmert, Hadas Klein
The Bibi Files will be released in Los Angeles on November 15, 2024. A New York release and a VOD release on Jolt will follow on December 11, 2024. Grade: 4.5/5
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