Netanyahu Asks Court to Block Airing of His Interrogation in Upcoming Film
A Jerusalem court rejected the petition shortly after it was filed, and hours before 'The Bibi Files' is scheduled to debut at the Toronto Film Festival
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked a Jerusalem court on Monday to block the airing of footage of the PM being investigated as part of an upcoming documentary, but a judge rejected the petition a few hours later.
In his lawyer's petition to the Jerusalem District Court, Netanyahu's lawyers cited the Israeli law, which prohibits the broadcast of investigation material without the court's permission.
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The petition also claims that one of the movie's producers, Israeli journalist Raviv Drucker, has "publically declared himself as a political opponent of Netanyahu, who wishes the end of his tenure," adding that Drucker's goal is to influence the legal proceedings and infringe on the PM's rights.
The film, which is expected to debut on Monday evening in the Toronto Film Festival, is called "The Bibi Files." It's produced by Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney and directed by Alexis Bloom, and will screen as a work in progress. The filmmakers told Hollywood trade paper Variety they are bringing the film to the festival due to the ongoing war in Gaza and concerns over democracy in Israel.
The recordings of Netanyahu were reportedly made between 2016 and 2018 as part of the police investigation into the prime minister that eventually saw him being charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The recordings were leaked to Gibney last year, Variety said.
The paper noted that the footage includes "extensive interviews with Bibi, his wife Sara, his son Yair, the prime minister's friends and associates, as well as household employees."
Israeli journalists has published transcripts of police interrogations of Netanyahu over the years. Many of them appear in reporting by Haaretz investigative reporter Gidi Weitz, who went over hundreds of thousands of words from years of interrogation sessions in which Netanyahu was asked about everything from his meddling in the media to bottles of champagne.
No footage of the police interrogation has ever been aired in Israel due to privacy laws, and it is unclear if the film will be shown in the country – certainly while Netanyahu's corruption trial continues at Jerusalem District Court.