Despite the Israeli Prime Minister’s attempts to prevent it, the Toronto Film Festival witnessed the screening of “The Bibi Papers”, which included leaked videos of Benjamin Netanyahu’s interrogation.
The documentary, produced by Alex Gibney and directed by Alexis Bloom, features clips of Israeli police interrogating Netanyahu over corruption allegations, and previously unseen footage from the investigation that led to a lawsuit against him in 2019.
The “Bibi Documents” hint that the prime minister is deliberately prolonging the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has claimed more than 40,000 martyrs so far, to avoid a possible prison sentence resulting from the corruption charges against him.
Request declined
Ahead of the film’s premiere, Netanyahu filed a request with the Jerusalem District Court for an urgent hearing, demanding that the film be banned from being shown and that documents from his corruption trial be published.
For its part, the court rejected the prime minister’s request – the day before yesterday, Monday – and did not object to the screening of the film at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada, but opened the door to appeal regarding the screening of the work in Israel.
Alex Gibney on why the film is banned from official release in Israel because of unique privacy laws about testimony, but the rest of the world isn’t under the same restrictions. #TheBibiFiles #tiff24 pic.twitter.com/GTyIUSleX1
— Jason Gorber (@filmfest_ca) September 10, 2024
Leaked scenes
In the details of the leaked scenes that appear in the film, the police recorded video clips of Netanyahu’s interrogation in his office between 2016 and 2018, before the Public Prosecution brought official corruption charges against him.
The footage – collected as part of the investigation into charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in what is known as the “gifts affair” – includes scenes of Netanyahu talking about allegations that he and his wife, Sara, accepted gifts from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.
Several witnesses who worked for Milchan and Netanyahu are also seen speaking to police, painting a picture of regular gifts they claim the Netanyahus received in exchange for favors.
Among these services was the extension of the marginal tax exemption that Milchan benefited from. Netanyahu claims that his unusual intervention regarding the tax exemption was in the interest of the state, not Milchan.
Case 1000, also known as the “gifts” case, is the most prominent corruption and bribery charge facing Netanyahu, and involves him and his family over allegations that they received expensive gifts, including jewelry for his wife Sara, from prominent wealthy individuals.
“Netanyahu’s corruption puts hostages at risk”
In the auditorium, some spectators held up signs reading “Netanyahu’s corruption puts hostages at risk,” calling on the Israeli government to act quickly to secure the release of prisoners and a ceasefire in Gaza before it was too late.
Many on social media platforms demanded to see what corruption Netanyahu is doing.
‘I’ve never seen the depth of moral corruption’: Bibi Files screens at TIFF
—Dr. Ingrid Mattson (@IngridMattson) September 10, 2024
It is noteworthy that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has resulted, since October 7, 2023, in the martyrdom of 41,020 Palestinians, most of whom were children and women, and the injury of 94,925 others, while civil defense teams are still trying to reach thousands of victims under the rubble.
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