With all of the recent news coming out of the Middle East — Aotearoa New Zealand refusing to recognise a Palestinian state and Trump’s 20-point Gaza “peace” plan that somehow involved Tony Blair — I thought it might be helpful to understand how we got here, at least the very recent context for how we got here.
Back in December I reviewed The Bibi Files for a quick survey of recent documentaries that also included the devastating Sugarcane, about the abuse of hundreds of Native American children by the Catholic Brothers who were supposed to look after them, and Faye, about the bipolar world of Oscar-winning actress Faye Dunaway:
Another troubling realisation in a week of them was seeing the case made that the deaths of tens of thousands of people in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and now Syria, can be traced back to one man’s taste for expensive cigars (and his wife’s preference for the finest champagne).
In The Bibi Files, leaked Israeli police interrogation videos show how close Benjamin Netanyahu came to being prosecuted for the most prosaic of corruption charges before he saved his political career by forming a coalition with the worst of Israel’s right wing political movements and getting into an endless war of expansion that is now being fought on three fronts.
Actually, the cigars and the champagne were only the beginning of the story, even if they alone would have meant years in prison if the case had been concluded in time. As Israel’s longest serving prime minister, Netanyahu had an inflated idea of his own superstardom as well as a persecution complex about the media and opposition. Some of the footage revealed in The Bibi Files is jaw dropping in its hubris.
The defining characteristic of right wing politics in this shady world in which we find ourselves is shamelessness. Trump has taught these people to never admit defeat, never show weakness. And we have no effective tactics to counter them.
Essential viewing if you want to understand the unfolding tragedy of Gaza.
Where to watch The Bibi Files
Aotearoa: Streaming on DocPlay or digital rental from AroVision
Australia: Streaming on FoxtelNow or DocPlay
Canada: Not currently available online
Ireland: Not currently available online
India: Not currently available online
USA: Digital rental from Jolt
UK: Digital rental