HaMerotz LaMillion 7 is the seventh season of HaMerotz LaMillion (, lit. The Race to the Million), an Israeli reality competition show based on the American series The Amazing Race. It featured 12 teams of two with a pre-existing relationship in a race around the Eastern Hemisphere to win ₪1,000,000. Starting in Jerusalem, racers traveled through Israel, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Nepal, China, and the Philippines before returning to Israel and finishing in Tel Aviv.
The season premiered on 15 July 2019 on Channel 13 with the finale on 22 September 2019 and was hosted by Ron Shahar.
Models Matija "Tia" Galili and Fatima "Fay" Jakite were the winners of this season, while newlyweds Karin and Ariel Kleinberg finished second, and twins Haviv and Itzak Maman finished third.
Production Development and filming
In October 2018, news broke that Reshet would be filming the seventh and eighth seasons of HaMerotz LaMillion back-to-back with filming set to begin in November and into December. This is the first Amazing Race franchise to film two installments during a 54-day production.
Filming for the seventh season began on 4 November 2018, when passersby noticed a crane and Amazing Race flags on the grounds of the Knesset. Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein later confirmed in a statement that the Knesset was being used as a filming location for HaMerotz LaMillion as part of the seventieth anniversary celebration of the establishment of the legislature. The next day, the teams were spotted at Ben Gurion Airport.
The season visited two continents and eight countries and was the first time that an Amazing Race franchise visited Nepal, a country which has yet to be visited by the original American edition.
This season also included a companion series that aired on ZOOM entitled Zoom in on the Race, which featured comedians Duvdevani and Kovach following the filming of the season.
Casting At the end of the finale of the previous season, host Ron Shahar announced that casting for the seventh season had begun.
Marketing Harel Group and Spring returned as sponsors for the season alongside 5 Gum, Hot, Nature Valley, Škoda Auto, Under Armour, James Richardson Corporation, Shufersal, and the Knesset.
Cast
On June 19, 2019, the cast photos were posted on the show's Instagram page with the cast bios released five days later. The cast for this season included former child actresses Noy and Hadar Karako. Tia & Fay were part of the cast of HaMerotz LaMillion 6 but were removed before filming and replaced with another team due to a missing travel visa. Haviv and Itzhak Maman were previously contestants on Eyal Golan Is Calling You. Gili is the mother of Yarden, who raced on the previous and subsequent seasons, and previously appeared on episode twenty-eight of the sixth season during a video chat with her daughter, while she was racing in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus (נוי) 20Identical TwinsGinatonEliminated 1st(in Cape Town, South Africa) (הדר) 20 (כאמלה) 24Childhood FriendsJaffaEliminated 2nd(in Cape Town, South Africa) (בהירה) 24 (יהודית) 51Mother & Daughter Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'utEliminated 3rd(in Livingstone, Zambia) (זוהר) 24 (בן) 24CoworkersBat YamEliminated 4th(in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe) (רן) 23 (מיכל) 19Instagram Stars IrusEliminated 5th(in Grand Bassin, Mauritius) (עומר) 21 Neta'im (עדן) 24Married with a ChildRehovotEliminated 6th(in Kathmandu, Nepal) (אביעד) 37 (טלי) 58Best FriendsGivatayimEliminated 7th(in Kathmandu, Nepal) (גילי) 54 (ניסים) 26SiblingsKiryat MalakhiEliminated 8th(in Shanghai, China) (אוראל) 29 (איל) 24Friends from Unit 8200Neve MonossonEliminated 9th(in Manila, Philippines) (סיד) 23 (חביב) 30TwinsTel AvivThird Place (יצחק) 30 (קארין) 22NewlywedsSderotSecond Place (אריאל) 23 (פיי) 23ModelsTel AvivWinners (טיה) 23 Future appearances In 2025, Omer Nudelman competed on the eleventh season of Rokdim Im Kokhavim.
Results The following teams participated in the season, with their relationships at the time of filming. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television due to inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order:
TeamPosition (by leg)Roadblocksperformed123456789101112Tia & Fay6th2nd6th7th5th1st1st4th1st1st2nd1stTia 1, Fay 1Ariel & Karin 7th5th5th4th4th4th4th6th3rd2nd4th1st2ndAriel 1, Karin 1Haviv & Itzhak 4th1st2nd1st1st2nd5th3rd1st3rd2nd3rd3rdHaviv 1, Itzhak 1Eyal & Sid1st4th1st3rd2nd7th7th2nd2nd4th3rdEyal 1, Sid 1Nisim & Orel6th7th6th8th5th6th4th5thNisim 0, Orel 2Tali & Gili10th7th8th2nd3rd6th3rd5thTali 1, Gili 1Aviad & Eden3rd3rd3rd5th6th1st2ndAviad 0, Eden 2Michal & Omer8th10th9th9th7th3rdMichal 1, Omer 1Ran & Ben9th9th4th8thRan 1, Ben 1Yehoudit & Zohar2nd8th10thYehoudit 1, Zohar 0Kamle & Bahira 11th11thKamle 1, Bahira 0Noy & Hadar5thNoy 0, Hadar 0
Key A team placement means the team was eliminated. A team placement indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg. An team's placement indicates that the team came in last on a non-elimination leg and were on a second flight that arrived two hours after the other teams during the subsequent leg. An indicates that there was a Duel on this leg, while an indicates the team that lost the Duel and received a 15-minute penalty. A , , or indicates the team who received a Yield; , , and indicates that the team voted for the recipient. A indicates the team who received a U-Turn; indicates that the team voted for the recipient. Matching colored symbols (, , , , and ) indicate teams who worked together during part of the leg as a result of an Intersection. Italicized results indicate the position of the team at the midpoint of a two-part leg.
Notes
^ During the Intersection, Hadar fell and injured her arm; unfit to continue, Noy & Hadar did not complete the remainder of the leg, and instead they were directly sent to the Pit Stop for elimination. Yehoudit & Zohar, who were intersected along with Noy & Hadar, were forced to quit the Intersection; however, they were not issued a penalty. Yehoudit & Zohar elected to forfeit the final match of the Duel and accept the 15-minute penalty. Leg 11 was a combined double-length leg. The placements listed in the first column reflect the order teams finished the sticky tofu task.
Voting history Teams may vote to choose either U-Turn or Yield. The team with the most votes received the U-Turn or Yield penalty, depending on the respective leg.
YieldU-TurnYieldLeg #2345678910U-Turned/YieldedAviad & EdenEyal & SidTali & GiliTia & FayRan & BenTia & FayTia & FayTia & FayAviad & EdenAviad & EdenEyal & SidEyal & SidHaviv & ItzhakResult2–2–2–2–1–1–1–12–1–1–1–1–1–1–1–1–14–3–2–14–1–1–1–1–13–2–2–13–2–1–1–14–2–13–1–1–12–2–1VoterTeam's VoteTia & FayAviad & EdenHaviv & ItzhakAriel & KarinEyal & SidEyal & SidAviad & EdenAviad & EdenEyal & SidEyal & SidAriel & KarinTia & FayTia & FayTia & FayTia & FayTia & FayHaviv & ItzhakHaviv & ItzhakHaviv & ItzhakHaviv & ItzhakHaviv & ItzhakTia & FayAviad & EdenTia & FayTia & FayEyal & SidMichal & OmerAviad & EdenTia & FayAriel & KarinEyal & SidYehoudit & ZoharRan & BenTia & FayTia & FayTia & FayTia & FayTali & GiliTali & GiliHaviv & ItzhakNisim & OrelTali & GiliYehoudit & ZoharYehoudit & ZoharAviad & EdenAviad & EdenAviad & EdenAviad & EdenEyal & SidEyal & SidTali & GiliKamle & BahiraKamle & BahiraYehoudit & ZoharMichal & OmerAviad & EdenAviad & EdenAviad & EdenEyal & SidAviad & EdenNoy & HadarNisim & OrelNisim & OrelTali & GiliTia & FayNisim & OrelTali & GiliMichal & OmerRan & BenRan & BenYehoudit & ZoharHaviv & ItzhakHaviv & ItzhakHaviv & ItzhakRan & BenEyal & SidMichal & OmerTia & FayTia & FayYehoudit & ZoharEyal & SidEyal & SidNisim & OrelKamle & BahiraTali & GiliTali & GiliNoy & HadarAviad & Eden
Episode Titles Translated from Hebrew from the official website:
Prizes The prize for each leg, with the exception of Leg 11, was awarded to the first place team for that leg. Gift cards were provided by Shufersal Travel, and the ₪1,000,000 was provided by Harel Group. The prizes were:
Legs 1-10 – A gift card Leg 12 – ₪1,000,000
Race summary
Leg 1 (Israel)
Airdate: 15 July 2019 Jerusalem, Israel (Wohl Rose Park Helipad) (Starting Line) Jerusalem (Knesset) Jerusalem (Rothschild Street) Netzer Sereni (Kibbutz Farm) Tel Aviv (Habima Square) Tel Aviv (Eretz Israel Museum)
Additional tasks At the Knesset, teams had to enter Chagall State Hall and study ten photographs of significant events that occurred at the legislature and the date associated with each photograph. When ready, teams would be taken in a boom lift to a wooden beam suspended over Rothschild Street that they had to climb up by inserting metal pegs into holes. After reaching the top, teams had to place the ten photographs with their correct dates to receive their next clue. After team completed the first task, they had to find a marked Škoda Kodiaq or Škoda Karoq parked on Rothschild Street with a driver that would take teams to their next destination. At Netzer Sereni, teams had to use poles to push a basket of citrus fruit up an angled beam without letting the fruit fall until the basket locks in place at the top to receive their next clue. At Habima Square, teams had to find a person with physical proof that they were departing on a flight from Ben Gurion Airport within the next 24 hours and bring that person, who would receive a US$200 JR/Duty Free gift card, to Habima Square to receive their next clue.
Leg 2 (Israel → South Africa)
Airdates: 17 & 20 July 2019 Tel Aviv (Ben Gurion Airport) to Cape Town, South Africa (Cape Town International Airport) Cape Town (Bo-Kaap – Atlas Trading Company) Cape Town (Port of Cape Town) Cape Town (Victoria & Alfred Waterfront – Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre) Cape Town (Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital) Cape Town (Hout Bay Harbour) Cape Town (Company's Garden – Artillery Memorial) Cape Town (Iziko South African National Gallery)
In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to don a virtual reality headset and watch footage of animals crawling on themselves for 30 minutes. In reality, the animals were crawling on a mannequin, and hospital staff were using props to make team members believe that the animals were on them. Team members would be attached to a pulse oximeter, and if their pulse exceeded 90 beats per minute, the 30-minute clock would stop until team members could lower their pulse. Once the time expired, teams would receive their next clue. Before leaving the hospital, teams would discover if they had been Yielded.
Additional tasks At Atlas Trading Company, teams had to transport a hand truck loaded with bags of spices through the streets of Bo-Kaap and deliver the bags to three houses with the same numbers printed on the bags' tags and the same color as the bags. While transporting the bags, each team member had to hold a tray with three bowls of spices. If they brought the bags to the correct houses, teams would receive receipts that they had to bring back to Atlas Trading Company in exchange for their next clue. At the quays in the Port of Cape Town, teams would vote for the team they wish to Yield. They would then discover an Intersection and had to agree to work with another team. The newly Intersected teams had to stand on a rotating platform above Table Bay. Each team member had to walk across a narrow beam from one pillar of the platform to the next one. Then, all of the team members would open a box that would reveal a number. Finally, one team member had to climb down a rope to a box with a combination lock and had to unlock their next clues by combining the four numbers (2357). If a team member fell off the platform or if teams' time limit of 10 minutes expired, they would have to perform the task again. After completing the task, teams were no longer Intersected.