“The Gatekeepers” is one of the top contenders for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature this weekend. It’s likely to lose to “Searching for Sugar Man,” but “The Gatekeepers” tackles a more pressing political issue: Israel and its opponents.

The men of the title are the six living former heads of Shin Bet, also known as Shabak, the Israeli clandestine security service. Think of it as Israeli’s version of our FBI, but even more clandestine. The only Shin Bet employee whose name is known is that of its chief; every other worker is anonymous. And that director, who has his hand in every national security decision made in the country, answers only to the prime minister.