“The Bibi Files”: Corruption vs. Morality Meets Survival
As Americans prepare for Trump 2.0, they can take a break by watching “The Bibi Files,” a portrait of Benjamin Netanyahu and his ongoing quest to outrun the corruption charges that have dogged him since 2016. Netanyahu rushed to congratulate Trump on his election victory, and one can only imagine the plans the two men have in store as they cement their mutual admiration society.
Consumed with political survival regardless of the cost, Trump and Netanyahu will take any action to put distance between themselves and the legal ramifications of their respective transgressions. There is no regard for the toll it will take on their countries and the rest of the world.
The documentary is directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Alex Gibney, who was offered the police interrogation tapes of Netanyahu. He received them during the judicial crisis in Israel, and before October 7. Gibney reached out to Bloom with the material in the summer of 2023, when Israeli street demonstrations were at a fevered pitch. Attracted by the similarities between Netanyahu and her portrait of Roger Ailes, the media power manipulator who changed the face of American news, Bloom was onboard.
Netanyahu’s fight to outrun the charges that could land him in jail has led to decisions that have created one of the worst conflagrations in the region — impacting Israelis, Palestinians, neighboring countries, and even diaspora Jews.
Just as Trump has been in and out of courtrooms, Netanyahu’s dealings have been under scrutiny for almost a decade. It began with a look into alleged bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, with different teams of police investigators designated to look into the assorted charges. In February 2019, the police presented their findings to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, a judge appointed by Netanyahu. The official indictments came down in November of that year and were brought simultaneously: Case 1000, Case 2000, and Case 4000. Netanyahu has the distinction of being the first Israeli Prime Minister criminally indicted while serving in office.
Nimrod Novik, a former senior policy advisor to Shimon Peres, states: “Government officials are not allowed to take gifts. Period. Others were sent to prison. No one is above the law.”
The film culls from thousands of hours of leaked tapes and includes a full range of characters. Even Trump donor Miriam Adelson makes an appearance. Intercut is the backstory of Netanyahu’s biography, talking heads, scenes of street demonstrations, footage of the October 7 attack, and finally, the ongoing destruction of Gaza as the “war continues aimlessly.”
Israeli investigative journalist Raviv Drucker acts as a guide to the narrative. (He is also a producer.) Drucker has been sued by the Netanyahus three times, and the channel he works for has been threatened. A presence throughout, Drucker adds comments, context, and overview (“Bibi thought he was immune.”) as Bloom formulates her story.
The film’s opening scene shows an empty chair in front of a table with a glass and a bottle of Pellegrino. A map of the Middle East is on the wall. Here, Netanyahu is read his rights, and his cross-examination takes place.
Netanyahu evades his interviewers, slams his hand down in rage and antagonism, and for ninety-five percent of the time does not recall events. He refutes inquiries with retorts such as, “You are asking me a delusional question.”
The 115-minute movie has two parallel threads. The first examines Netanyahu’s alleged crimes and the direct and tangential players who are grilled. The second paints a picture of Netanyahu, his personal history, and his familial relationships. His wife Sara and son Yair have prominent screen time. Uzi Beller, a childhood friend, talks about the duality of Netanyahu’s personality. He describes him as two people — Bibi vs. Netanyahu. Beller shares that Netanyahu never had a lot of close friends and was overshadowed by his older brother, Yonatan (Yoni), who was the “star of the family.”
Yoni is known as the hero of the July 1976 Entebbe operation. As a Lt. Colonel, he was the leader of the raid to free over one hundred hostages held by West German and Palestinian hijackers. He was the sole Israeli casualty.
Yoni’s death was a fateful event that changed the trajectory of Netanyahu’s life. Despite his devastation and loss, Netanyahu picked up his brother’s mantle and charted a new path.
Netanyahu became the recurring public face of Israel when he got the role of Ambassador to the United Nations in 1984. He carved a niche for himself as the “protector of Israel.” When called upon by the media to discuss terrorism, clips show him delivering the hardline quote, “You don’t surrender.”
Sara, the third wife of Netanyahu (m. 1991), presents as a lightning rod for the descent into an extravagant lifestyle that required exorbitant gifts from benefactors that would turn into dangerous quid-pro-quos. Yair Netanyahu, the eldest of their three children, completes the triad. An ultra-right winger who spouts tirades about leftists and immigrants, he complains that the police are conducting a “witch hunt” (Sound familiar?) and are “acting like the Gestapo.”
In 1993, Netanyahu was embroiled in a sex scandal while running for office. Several comments suggest that it was after this incident that a relationship dynamics shift with Sara occurred. The possibility is posed: “Is Netanyahu afraid of his wife?” Descriptions of Sara are those of a “control freak” whose behavior is erratic, possibly due to her drinking. (One of the ongoing presents delivered to the household is twenty bottles of champagne per week. Code name: Pink.)
Domestic staff share that Sara intervenes in policy and media decisions and determines who can be trusted. She falsifies invoices, is an abusive employer, as well as a “screamer.” When the police query her, she accuses them of “trying to bring the Prime Minister down.” She qualifies their claims as “nonsense,” the identical phrase her husband uses. To turn the tables, Sara asks her interrogators derisively, “Aren’t you ashamed?”
The trail of gratuities, which began with $110 cigars (Code name: Green Leaves.) and Sara’s champagne, escalated to hundreds of millions of dollars in question. At the onset of the investigations, Netanyahu’s lawyer advised him to resign. However, Netanyahu refused and continued to acquire “sugar daddies” from around the world. Two key players engaged in unsavory deals are the focus. Israeli-born Arnon Milchan, Hollywood producer, billionaire, and former arms dealer, is introduced. He says to the police cavalierly, “I give gifts. So what? They [the Netanyahus] like the good life.” One piece of jewelry for Sara was a 42-karat gold bracelet encrusted with diamonds. In return, Netanyahu talked to his then-finance minister, Yair Lapid, about giving Milchan a ten-year tax break on filing his overseas income. And then there was the matter of Milchan’s rescinded American visa. Netanyahu interceded on his behalf.
Netanyahu’s involvement with Shaul Elovitch, telecom tycoon and the owner of Eurocom Group, revolved around Elovich needing 200 million dollars and Netanyahu’s signature on specific paperwork. In exchange for the editorial team of his website, Walla, skewing the news to give positive coverage of the Netanyahu administration, Elovitch gets what he wants. The deal includes changing article content or titles, attacking opponents, and more flattering photos of Sara.
When Netanyahu won a fourth term by a landslide in 2015, he perceived himself as inseparable from the state of Israel. He became “King Bibi,” who was above the system. Center and left parties began to distance themselves from him when forming potential coalitions, and soon Netanyahu was reaching out to far-right politicians and extremists that “he wouldn’t have taken photos with three years prior.” Itamar Ben-Gvir, a Kahanist serving as Minister of National Security, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are now his allies.
Netanyahu has been prime minister longer than Ben-Gurion. Nimrod Novak comments, “L’État, c’est moi! When someone serves too long, it gets into their head.”
Various speakers put forth that after the 2015 victory, Netanyahu’s character flaws came out in full force. His speech, riling up the crowds before Rabin’s assassination, showed his opportunism. His appearances in front of Congress during Obama’s term and in July 2024 demonstrated his willingness to use American Jews as pawns in his agenda. Unsurprisingly, Netanyahu has stated, “The liberal Jews have forgotten what it means to be Jewish.” To create a broader base, he has openly courted American Christian Evangelical Zionists.
As the fighting drags on, more organizations are calling the Israeli military actions genocide. Meanwhile, the hostages remain in captivity. Netanyahu continues his “Total victory” policy while keeping one eye squarely on evading jail.
The choices Netanyahu has made along the way: The suitcases of millions in cash to Hamas from Qatar, putting Israel in turmoil over the Supreme Court because he saw the judiciary as a threat to his freedom, the German submarine affair, his failure to prioritize the hostages, the killing in Gaza, they are all conscious decisions.
When Bloom spoke as part of a panel arranged by the Israeli expat group UnXeptable (Tagline: We are not our government.), she posited that Netanyahu was willfully continuing the war and had cast off the “language of diplomacy.” She added, “You can’t keep leading your country by military force forever.”
Bloom also quotes Netanyahu’s Chief-of-Staff, who wouldn’t appear on camera. He summed up Netanyahu’s mindset succinctly and without parsing words.
“Bibi is motivated by his sense of legacy. He wants to be seen as a storied, smart leader, touched by the Messiah. He thinks he is bigger than everyone. [He has] no belief in anyone else. Loyalty is key. [He is] motivated by a sense of his own greatness. He thinks he is King David.”
The film had a World Premiere at DocNY, at the JCC’s Other Israel Film Festival, and has its official U.S. release on December 11. Jolt is the distributor, and they put no limits on the material. It is also available online as a pay-for-view.
“The Bibi Files” cannot be shown in Israel due to privacy laws. However, transcripts of testimonies have been widely disseminated.
Countries once seen as abiding by democratic norms are now backsliding with alarming alacrity. There is much to learn from “The Bibi Files” about how an individual leader demanding personal loyalty over ethical behavior can destroy governmental norms.
In America, we’re closer than we know.
Image: Courtesy of Jigsaw Productions
