HaMerotz LaMillion 4


The fourth season of HaMerotz LaMillion is an Israeli reality television game show based on the American series, The Amazing Race. The fourth installment of the series features 14 teams of two with a pre-existing relationship in a race around the world to win ₪1,000,000.
This season premiered on 22 November 2014 on Channel 2 hosted by Ron Shahar.
Shani Alon and her husband's best friend Shay Gavriel were the winners of this season.

Production

Development

The season introduced a new Starting Line twist and contained two different first legs that started in different locations. Each of the legs resulted in the elimination of the last team in Israel. The 14 teams were split into two groups of seven and each of the groups run in one of the alternative first legs, while being unaware of the existence of the second group.
The season visited four continents and eight countries covering a distance of more than, including the first time that an Amazing Race franchise visited the nation of Georgia, which hadn't been visited by the original American version at the time but would later be visited on the 28th season in 2016.
The results of the final leg were determined when teams had checked-in at the Pit Stop mat at Estancia La Republica in Argentina. However, teams had to fly back to Israel and make their way to the Moshe Aviv Tower in Tel Aviv before revealing the actual outcome of the Race and the winning team.

Casting

The cast for this season included politician and businesswomen Pnina Rosenblum, singer Roni Duani and actress Yael Duani, model Alexa Dol, and MTV music editor Tom Baum.
On 8 June 2020, Inbal "Tzuki" Nativ died at the age of 35 after a two year battle with cancer.

Future appearances

Shay & Shani and Vova & Alla competed on HaMerotz LaMillion 8.
Tom Baum appeared on the third leg of the subsequent season as a clue giver.
In mid-2015, Liron "Tiltil" Orfeli competed on the of the Israeli edition of Survivor and won the season. "Tiltil" then appeared on the ninth season of the Israeli edition of Big Brother along with Season 2 contestant Adele Bespalov and Season 6 contestant Neta Barazani as part of a second wave of houseguests with a secret assignment in order to earn their way into the Big Brother house. "Tiltil" and Neta were unable to earn a spot in the house. Ruth "Alexa Dol" Dolgakov later competed on the with Season 5 contestant Jonathan "Joezi" Zirah. Alexa was the fifth person voted off of the show and finished in 13th place.

Awards

In 2015, the season won a Israeli Academy of Film and Television Award for best reality program.

Results

The following teams participated in the Race, 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:
  1. Leg 1 was split into two halves. Seven of the teams completed the first part of the leg in Jerusalem, while the other seven completed the second part in northern Israel. Those who were not eliminated from the first group met up with the second group in Petah Tikva.
  2. Pnina fell at the Starting Line and fractured her wrist. She was taken to hospital to get treated, and then she proceeded with Hen directly to the Pit Stop for elimination.
  3. Sinai injured her head during the second-last match of the Double Battle; she and Irit elected to forfeit the remaining match and serve the 15-minute penalty.
  4. During the third match of the Double Battle, Roni became trapped in her kayak and was held underwater for a brief period. Despite sustaining no injuries, she elected to forfeit the task as she was too traumatized to continue the task. All other teams to arrive after them immediately received their next clue without performing the Double Battle. Yafa & Boaz did not arrive, however because of their situation, Roni & Yael received the 15-minute penalty once all of the other teams had passed them.
  5. Yafa & Boaz traveled to the hospital at the beginning of the leg, due to concerns that Boaz had contracted pneumonia. This turned out not to be the case, but by the time he was discharged the other teams had already finished the leg. Thus, Yafa & Boaz were directed to the Pit Stop without performing any of the leg's tasks.
  6. Alexa & Raz chose to serve a 1-hour penalty so that only Raz had to complete the log-rolling challenge.
  7. Gal collapsed from exhaustion and dehydration after his third straight attempt of the Double Battle. Unfit to continue, he and Liel forfeit all remaining matches and all other teams to arrive after them were immediately given their next clue without performing the Double Battle. Gal & Liel received the 15-minute penalty once all of the other teams had passed them, by which point Gal had recovered enough to race.
  8. Yochi & Linor were unable to finish the final leg because they were unable to complete the final challenge, thus accepting a third-place finish.

    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.

Episode Titles

Translated from Hebrew from the official website:

Race summary

Leg 1 (Israel)

;Group A
Airdate: 22 November 2014
The first Detour of the Race was a choice between חלב and דבש. In Milk, teams made their way to another area of the park. There, they had to use two long sticks to carefully grasp bottles of milk by the neck. If teams could lift five bottles of milk and place them into a holding tray without dropping them, they would get their next clue. In Honey, teams would make their way to an apiary in the park where they would have to harvest a full jar of honey from honeycomb. The twist was that team members would be wearing mesh cages on their heads and would each have a jar of live bees dropped inside of it while they worked. Once they had filled the jar with honey, they would receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
;Group B
in Petah Tikva served as the second of two Pit Stops for the first leg and the starting point of a race across the world.
Airdate: 26 November 2014
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 29 November 2014, 3 & 6 December 2014
The Detour was a choice between ז׳רטיס שמברבלי and צ'ורצ'חלה. In Transport, teams had to find the Tqkap Junkyard, where they would have to load old broken car parts onto the roof of another car and secure them down with seatbelts. Once everything was secure, teams had to manually push the cars out of the gates of the junkyard to get their next clue. In Churchkhela, teams had to find the Dry Bridge Bazaar, where they would pick up a display of Churchkhela, a local candy. They would have to sell every piece of candy they had for 1lari each. They could exchange all of their money for their next clue. Teams were then directed to Rustaveli Avenue where they found the U-Turn reveal board.
For the first Double Battle of the Race, teams had to face off against one another in Chidaoba Wrestling, where contestants wore vests that could be grabbed by opponents. Two members of the team would fight each other, trying to throw the other to the ground or force them out of the ring. Then, the other two team members would fight. The game is played in a best of three; the first team to win two matches would receive their next clue. The team that lost the final Double Battle had to wait out a fifteen-minute penalty.
In the first Roadblock of the Race, one team member had to climb up the ladder attached to one of the legs of the tower, and then continue climbing up a rope ladder. They then had to cross one of the support beams of the tower before they could pull up their next clue, dangling in the air by a rope.
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 10, 13 & 17 December 2014
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member would have to search through 45 full sets of matryoshka dolls to find one piece that was marked with a tiny Race flag, where they would get their next clue. However, the teammate who did not participate in this Roadblock had to put back together all of the matryoshka dolls that their teammate had taken apart. Only once all of the dolls were placed back together, teams were permitted to leave the site. Before departing, teams would discover if they were Yielded.
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 20, 24 & 27 December 2014
The Detour was a choice of גרביים or גלגיליות, both of which were themed after Pippi Longstocking and required teams to wear Pippi Longstocking wigs. In Socks, team members would each have to put on 10 pairs of stockings at once. Then they had to bounce on a trampoline, and had to continue bouncing while trying to take off the socks and hang them on a clothesline above. Once all 20 pairs of socks were hanging, teams would get their next clue. In Skates, one team member had to put on a pair of roller skates. Then, each team member had to stay at opposite ends of one of the roads in the park with frying pans, trying to pass a pancake between each other using them. Teams had to exchange the pancake every time they passed a mark along the road, of which there were at least 30. Once at the end, teams then had to toss the pancake onto a plate. Once 15 pancakes, taken one at a time through this process, were on the plate, teams would get their next clue. Teams would also find a U-Turn reveal board before leaving.
For the Double Battle, teams had to get into kayaks, with one team member paddling and the other standing up and holding a battering weapon. The two standing members of each team had to battle it out and try to knock their opponent into the water. The one left standing would receive the next clue. The team that lost the final Double Battle had to wait out a fifteen-minute penalty.
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to pick a rabbit and run it through a rabbit show jumping course without knocking over any of the obstacles to get their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 31 December 2014, 3 & 7 January 2015
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 7, 10, 14 & 17 January 2015
The Detour was a choice between לפשפש and לייבש. In Rummage, teams would have to choose one of three distinct plastic fish-shaped lures. They then had to climb into a waist-deep container of fish guts and garbage body parts, searching for a matching lure somewhere in the muck. If they found it, they would get their next clue. In Dry, teams had to filet fish and cut off their heads, skewering the heads onto a spike and threading six of them together into a fish head necklace. Each necklace that teams made had to be worn until the challenge was done. Once teams had created six necklaces and hung them out to dry, they would get their next clue. Before leaving the harbour, teams would also find the U-Turn reveal board.
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 21, 24 & 28 January 2015
In the James Bond-themed Roadblock, one team member would be given a martini to hold until they had completed the task. After traveling from Limehouse Marina to the Presidents Quay House by speedboat, the chosen team member would have to figure out the code to unlock a safe containing the key to the telephone box. The code could be deciphered by arranging six actors who had played the part of James Bond into chronological order. The team member had to arrange placards of the actors into the correct order, all while holding the martini, and then use the numbers on the placards to figure out the code. Once they had unlocked the save, rescued the girl, and disarmed the bomb, teams would get their next clue. However, there was a 2-minute time limit before the bomb "exploded", at which point teams would be sent to the back of the queue to try again.
For the Double Battle, one team member from each team would dress up as a member of the Queen's Guard and had to stand before a guardhouse. The remaining team member of the opposing team would then try to get them to flinch or laugh, using whatever means they wished without touching them. The first guard to crack would lose the Double Battle. The team that lost the final Double Battle had to wait out a fifteen-minute penalty.
The leg's Detour had teams to choose either מטריות or לא להיות. In Umbrellas, one team member made their way to a plaza where a series of umbrellas were arranged, each with a letter of the English alphabet written on top. Their partner would be on the balcony above with a clear view of the umbrellas, and had to help the one on the ground spell out the famous word from Mary PoppinsSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Once the word was spelled correctly, a Mary Poppins impersonator would give them their next clue. In Not To Be, teams had to learn and perform a scene from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, with one playing the part of Romeo and the other Juliet. They would be judged on memorization as well as their dramatic performance. If the judge gave his approval, teams would get their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 4 & 7 February 2015
In this Roadblock, one team member had to choose a surfer of the same gender that they were and then take a surfboard out onto the waters. They would be tied to the surfboard of their surfer with a white buoy in the middle. The team member and the surfer would try to paddle away from each other, much like in tug-of-war, and try to drag the white buoy across the yellow buoys on their side. Once the team member could do this, they would receive their next clue. Before leaving, teams would find out the results of the Yield.
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 11, 14 & 18 February 2015
For this Roadblock, one team member would have to traverse across a series of hammocks hanging between trees, making their way from the start to the end of the course without touching the ground. At the end of the last hammock, they would find their next clue. The clue then told teams that the other team member would have to complete the course in a must faster time, to receive their next clue proper. Before leaving the reserve, teams voted for who would be Yielded.
The Detour was a choice of בננה and אננס. In Banana, teams made their way to Finca La Rebusca, a banana plantation, and entered the field of banana trees. Each team was given a number, and teams would have to find five bushels of bananas that were marked with this number and harvest them. They would then load the five bushels onto a hanging track and use the local pulley system to deliver them to the preparation plant, where they would receive their next clue. In Pineapple, teams made their way to a nearby pineapple field where they would have to harvest 100 pineapples and then load them into a truck to receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 21, 25 & 28 February 2015
In this Roadblock, one team member and their chosen local would play a game show called כל ישראל אחים. They would be asked a series of "this or that" questions and both of them had to write down their answer. The team member and their local had to answer 15 questions exactly the same in order to receive their next clue.
;Additional tasks
Airdates: 4 & 7 March 2015
For the final Double Battle of the Race in Tiwanaku Ruins, one team member from each competing team had to play on a best of three match on a traditional Incan game. They must run around the field flipping the coins so that both halves are their respective colour. The first team to fully turn all three coins to their colour received their next clue. The team that lost the final Double Battle had to wait out a fifteen-minute penalty.
;Additional tasks
;Additional note
Airdates: 14, 21 & 25 March 2015
;Additional tasks
Airdate: 28 March 2015
;Additional tasks
The fourth season averaged a 33.6% average and 46.3% household share with approximately a million viewers tuning in regularly across the season. The finale received ratings of 41.8% and 58.1% household share with 1.5 million viewers watching the episode, which was an all-time record for a finale episode of a reality competition show.