The Los Angeles fires had an immediate effect here in New York Tuesday night.
MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell was on stage in the middle of a post-screening Q&A for the documentary “The Bibi Files” when his phone rang. It was his daughter calling from Los Angeles, he said after excusing himself. He explained she was in the evacuation area of Los Angeles, and trying to discern which art to rescue from the fires raging there.
Huh? What? For almost everyone in the audience this was the first time they’d heard about the wildfires in Los Angeles. They were just starting as big news.
Meantime, the documentary had reached its own heat with the revelation that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had actually allowed the funding Hamas through Qatar. To stay in power, to avert jail for corruption, Netanyahu saw his chance to fuel chaos.
Filmmakers Alex Gibney and Alexis Bloom (who’s also married to actor Filmmaker Fisher Stevens) obtained secret footage showing Netanyahu’s duplicity. Wanting to keep his enemies closer, he would control the violence, allowing Hamas to set the fires as he contained the height of the flames.
October 7 was a direct result. “The Bibi Files” reveals much through interviews conducted by police in Netanyahu’s office with a map of the Middle East in the background. Investigated for gifts of champagne, cigars, and jewelry, the prime minister maintains he is the victim of a witch hunt.
The result is a stunning expose that no US distributor would take on, even after world rights were snapped up in most countries. Netflix, Amazon, et al all turned it down. So Gibney and Bloom went to the new Jolt streaming service. You can watch “The Bibi Files” there for $12.99, and it’s worth every penny.
As for O’Donnell, as of last night his house was safe. He said on his MSNBC show that a friend had seen his house standing. But with the wind and the capricious nature of embers, it’s still touch and go. You can start watching below at about 16:00.
