Israelis find ways to view “The Bibi Files.” a documentary with leaked Netanyahu footage
By Jordan Pagkalinawan
“The Bibi Files,” a documentary that details corruption charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—including leaked interviews with Netanyahu, his family, and his associates—was released to the streaming service Jolt.film this week as Netanyahu stands trial for corruption charges. The film, created by documentarian Alex Gibney, is not available in Israel under privacy laws. However, Israelis have found ways to view the documentary.
Director Alexis Bloom says Israelis have managed to see “The Bibi Files” through VPN networks and social media videos, adding, “The film is being pirated like wildfire.”
“The Bibi Files” was born out of 1,000-plus hours of leaked footage sent to Gibney over the encrypted message app, Signal, last spring. Gibney then enlisted the assistance of Israeli investigative journalist Raviv Drucker, who vetted the material and tasked Bloom with its direction. The film faced other obstacles aside from its barring in Israel. According to the Associated Press, Gibney and Bloom raised funds “without disclosing to potential backers what they had,” while other backers were wary of getting involved following the Hamas-led attack on Israel. The events of Oct. 7 are included in the film as part of historical context.
“With a bit of time, it became clear that this tale that we started before Oct. 7 remained a story of corruption — the size of the corruption kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” Gibney said.
Reviews for “The Bibi Files” have been positive in Israeli media but divisive elsewhere. Nir Wolf, a TV critic for the newspaper Israel Hayom wrote: “Netanyahu’s opponents will swear by the film and will only become more convinced that he is corrupt, dizzy with power and leading us to destruction. His supporters will want to embrace him more.”
Netanyahu is also reportedly aware of the documentary’s existence, as his lawyer asked the attorney general to investigate Drucker in September, accusing him of attempting to influence legal proceedings. No investigation has been launched since then, though in the film, Drucker mentions that Netanyahu has tried to sue him three times.
Bloom says the film is not meant to be anti-Israel, but rather appeal to centrists instead of leftist opponents of Netanyahu.
“You know, a hardcore Bibi-ist is probably going to remain a hardcore Bibi-est,” she said. “But there are a lot of centrists. … And it’s very much a portrait of one family. I don’t think it’s anti-Israel, in the slightest.”
She also hopes viewers take away a key concept from watching “The Bibi Files”: “It’s OK to criticize the prime minister of Israel, and it’s not antisemitic and it’s not anti-Israel. He’s a political leader, like any other.”