Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza
and, in collaboration with The Washington Post, Failure at the Fence
Tues., Dec. 19, 2023
Streaming at 7/6c at pbs.org/frontline & in the PBS App
Airing at 10/9c on PBS and on YouTube
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In a two-hour special premiering Tues., Dec. 19, FRONTLINE presents two probing reports on how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reached this point.

First: As the war in Gaza continues with devastating consequences, a major 90-minute documentary offers a sweeping examination of the critical moments leading up to this crisis over the course of the past three decades, and the pivotal role of a central player: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Starting with the Oslo peace accords and continuing through the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the ongoing war in Gaza, Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza is an incisive and deeply reported look at the long history of failed peace efforts and violent conflict in the region ​​— and the increasing tensions between Israel and its ally, the U.S., over the war’s catastrophic toll and what comes next.

From an award-winning team that includes director James Jacoby and producer Anya Bourg, the documentary traces the tenure of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and the years of jockeying between him, U.S. presidents and the Palestinians. It features firsthand accounts of insiders and advisors to Netanyahu, U.S. presidents and Palestinian leadership, as well as key insights from experts and observers of the decades-long conflict. Painting a revealing portrait of Netanyahu’s political evolution and fateful decisions, the film also draws on past interviews from FRONTLINE’s 2016 documentary Netanyahu at War.

Amid controversy over the U.S.’s support of Israel, the documentary offers invaluable context for the crisis unfolding now — from Netanyahu’s rise to power in opposition to the Oslo Accords, to his subsequent clashes with U.S. presidents over further attempts to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians, to his strategy towards Hamas; from his fight for political survival amidst allegations of corruption and his alliance with the Israeli far-right, to his handling of the current conflict in Gaza.

Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza also shows how, in the wake of President Joe Biden’s initial embrace of Netanyahu in response to Oct. 7, the relationship has become increasingly fractious, with the president pressing Israel to embrace a two-state solution to the conflict, and the prime minister vowing not to “repeat the mistake of Oslo.”

The documentary will be followed by Failure at the Fence, a groundbreaking visual investigation in collaboration with The Washington Post featuring a detailed examination of how Hamas was able to breach Israel’s vaunted security barrier on Oct. 7 and carry out its devastating attack.

From the Post’s visual forensics team and award-winning producer Gabrielle Schonder, the short documentary draws on on-the-ground reporting, hundreds of hours of video and audio and Hamas planning documents. This special collaboration stems from a Post reconstruction published in November, now deepened with additional on-the ground reporting and riveting interviews that present a remarkable picture of how, as the Post reporters show, Hamas was planning the attack in plain sight, and Israel was blinded to its own vulnerabilities.

The two-part, two-hour special featuring Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza and Failure at the Fence premieres Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 7 pm ET at pbs.org/frontline, washingtonpost.com and in the PBS App, and at 10/9c that night on PBS and FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel. Both documentaries are distributed internationally by PBS International. Subscribe to FRONTLINE’s newsletter to get updates on events, podcast episodes and more related to Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza and Failure at the Fence. Read related, in-depth reporting and watch Failure at the Fence at washingtonpost.com.

Credits
Netanyahu, America & the Road to War in Gaza is a FRONTLINE Production with Left/Right Docs. Directed by James Jacoby. Written by James Jacoby and Anya Bourg. Produced by Anya Bourg and Lauren Ezell Kinlaw. Co-produced by Christina Avalos and Chris O’Coin. The senior producers are Eamonn Matthews and Frank Koughan. Failure at the Fence is a FRONTLINE Production with Schonder Productions in association with The Washington Post. Written, produced and directed by Gabrielle Schonder. The correspondent is Jon Swaine. Reported by Jon Swaine and Joyce Sohyun Lee. The senior producer is Frank Koughan. The executive editor of The Washington Post is Sally Buzbee. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

About FRONTLINE
FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 106 Emmy Awards and 31 Peabody Awards. Visit pbs.org/frontline and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more. FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

About The Washington Post
The Washington Post is an award-winning media publisher dedicated to holding truth to power through impactful and consequential journalism. WIth the mission to connect, inform and enlighten, its trustworthy reporting, in-depth analysis and engaging opinions are consumed daily by millions of readers around the world.
Press Contacts:
FRONTLINE — Anne Husted, Associate Director of Publicity, Communications and Awards,  frontlinemedia@wgbh.org
The Washington Post — Olivia Petersen, Vice President of Public Relations, postpr@washpost.com