The Bibi Files, a new documentary, begins with its eponymous antihero, Benjamin Netanyahu, being read his rights by police interrogators. His oblong, jowled face is well known – Netanyahu has been Israel’s prime minister for a total of 17 years – but we are accustomed to seeing him in charge of events, behind a lectern haranguing his country and the world beyond. We have never seen him like this.
Late last year, videos of police questioning of Netanyahu, his family, his rich backers and his disillusioned aides were leaked to Alex Gibney, an Oscar-winning American documentary maker and one of the producers of The Bibi Files. The tapes were recorded between 2016 and 2018 and appear for the first time in The Bibi Files, which premiered at festivals in Toronto and New York but still cannot be viewed in Israel.
From the outset, we see Netanyahu literally backed into a corner, behind his desk, fending off a barrage of questions about lavish gifts which the police claim he received in return for favours, and about political favours that they claim were bestowed in return for flattering news coverage.
