HaMerotz LaMillion 2 is the second season of HaMerotz LaMillion (, lit. The Race to the Million), an Israeli reality competition show based on the American series The Amazing Race. Hosted by Ron Shahar, replacing Raz Meirman, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around Eurasia to win ₪1,000,000. This season visited two continents and ten countries and traveled over during thirteen legs. Starting in Jerusalem, racers traveled through Israel, Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Poland, the Czech Republic, China, Thailand, and Sri Lanka before finishing in Singapore. New twists introduced in this season include a mid-leg elimination, the U-Turn and Yield Vote, the Double Battle, where two teams competed against each other in a task, and the Speed Bump. The season premiered on Channel 2 on 25 October 2011 and ended on 11 February 2012.
Painter and saleswoman Bar Ben-Vakil and Inna Broder were the winners of this season, while brothers Alon and Oren Harel finished in second place, and married Orthodox Jews Akiva and Anaelle Shmueli finished in third place.
Production Development and filming
In April 2009, during the airing of the first season, Reshet had begun preparations for a second season. They considered producing a celebrity edition of the show that would have raised the price of producing the show. Reshet had consulted with CBS and agreed it would film two more seasons at the same time to save expenses, a celebrity and non-celebrity editions. Despite this, on 20 December 2009, Reshet announced that it had cancelled the show. However, in September 2010, Reshet reconsidered, and Channel 2 greenlit the second season on 20 September 2010. On 11 February 2011, Ron Shahar was announced as the show's new host, replacing Raz Meirman.
Most filming was done in a 28-day period from 30 March to 26 April 2011, with the last leg taped on 11 January 2012. The second season spanned nine countries. Eight were previously unvisited, including Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, as well as the first visit by an Amazing Race franchise to Bosnia and Herzegovina. China was the only previously visited nation from the previous season featured on this season.
This season introduced a franchise-first twist for the Yield and U-Turn, dubbed as a "Yield/U-Turn Vote", where during a certain point on the leg, each team could cast a vote against one team on whom they wished to Yield (which was held at the Pit Stop) or U-Turn (held during the Detour) depending on the leg. Teams (and any multiple teams in the event of a tie) who received more votes would be subjected to a Yield/U-Turn. This season also featured its first double elimination in the Israeli series when in one leg, two teams were eliminated: one at the airport in Israel, and the other at the end of the leg. This season also introduced the Duel where teams had to compete head-to-head in a pre-determined challenge, where winning teams can move on to the next challenge, while the losing team had to wait for new challengers. The team who lost the last "Duel" would face a time penalty.
Croatian-born Israeli former footballer Đovani Roso appeared as a Pit Stop greeter during Leg 3 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Casting Casting for the season began on 21 November 2010 and lasted through early March 2011.
Blogs The host recorded blogs during filming, which could be viewed on the show's website.
Cast
Eleven teams competed on this season. At 18 years old, Adel was the youngest contestant on The Amazing Race excluding the American version's Family Edition. The casting of Firass & Shira led to calls from far-right groups such as Lehava for a boycott of the show due to opposition against interfaith relationships.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHaMerotz LaMillion, season 2, all episodes, originally aired 25 October 2011HometownStatus (גדי) 36Friends/BandmatesTel AvivEliminated 1st(in Tel Aviv, Israel) (אלונה) 44 (טל) 54Mother & Daughter HerzliyaEliminated 2nd(in Budapest, Hungary) (מור) 29 (ניצן) 28BakersAlfei MenasheEliminated 3rd(in Budapest, Hungary) (פיפי) 21 (פיראס) 36Muslim & Jewish Girlfriend Nazareth IllitEliminated 4th(in Dubrovnik, Croatia) (שירה) 33 (אלון) 32NewlywedsTel AvivEliminated 5th(in Prague, Czech Republic) (חן) 28 (פונדק) 30DJ & Security Company CEOPetah TikvaEliminated 6th(in Beijing, China) (מוטי) 28 (אסנת) 45FriendsKiryat EkronEliminated 7th(in Colombo, Sri Lanka) (כרמית) 50 (טום) 23Footballer and Girlfriend Petah TikvaEliminated 8th(in Singapore) (אדל) 18 Tel Aviv (עקיבא) 28Married Orthodox JewsTirat YehudaThird Place (ענהאל) 26 (אלון) 38Brothers Tel AvivSecond Place (אורן) 47 Giv'atayim (בר) 22Painter & SaleswomanNetanyaWinners (אינה) 23
Future appearances Adel Bespalov later appeared on the ninth season of the Israeli edition of Big Brother along with Season 4 contestant Liron "Tiltil" Orfeli 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. Adel earned her way into the house and finished seventh. In 2020, Akiva & Anaelle appeared on the Israeli version of Wife Swap. In 2021, Bespalov competed on the third season of Power Couple VIP.
Results
The following teams, with their relationships at the time of filming, participated in this season. This table is not reflective of all content broadcast on television, due to the inclusion (or exclusion) of data. Listed by finishing order:
TeamPosition (by leg)Roadblocksperformed12345678910111213Bar & Inna7th8th8th6th6th1st3rd4th5th1st3rd1st1stBar 4, Inna 5Alon & Oren5th3rd1st2nd2nd2nd2nd1st1st3rd2nd2nd3rd2ndAlon 6, Oren 4Akiva & Anaelle1st1st5th3rd5th5th1st2nd2nd2nd3rd1st2nd3rdAkiva 5, Anaelle 5Tom & Adele3rd5th3rd5th6th4th3rd4th1st4thTom 6, Adele 4Osnat & Carmit 6th6th4th7th4th3rd5th3rd4thOsnat 5, Carmit 5Pundak & Moti2nd2nd2nd1st3rd4th5thPundak 3, Moti 4Alon & Hen4th4th6th4th1stAlon 3, Hen 2Firass & Shira8th7th7thFirass 2, Shira 1Nitzan & Fifi9th9thNitzan 2, Fifi 0Tal & Mor10thTal 1, Mor 0Gadi & AlonaGadi 0, Alona 0
Key A placement means the team was eliminated. A indicates that the team won a Fast Forward. An underlined leg number indicates that there was no mandatory rest period at the Pit Stop; all teams were ordered to continue racing. An underlined team placement indicates that the team came in last, was ordered to continue racing, and didn't have to perform a Speed Bump nor were they "Marked for Elimination" in the next leg. A placement indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg. An placement indicates that the team came in last on a non-elimination leg and had to perform a Speed Bump during the next leg. An placement indicates that the team was "Marked for Elimination"; if they did not place first in the next leg, they would receive a one-hour (end of Leg 6) or 30-minute (end of Leg 9) penalty. Italicized results indicate the position of the team told to them by Ron Shahar after they checked into the mat at Ben Gurion Airport during the midpoint of the leg. An indicates that there was a Duel on this leg; an indicates the team that lost the Duel and received a 15-minute penalty. A indicates the team received a U-Turn; a indicates that the team voted for the recipient. A around a leg number indicates a leg where a U-Turn was available but not used. A indicates a team who received a Yield, and a indicates that a team voted for the recipient.
Notes
Gadi & Alona were the last team to arrive at Ben Gurion Airport and were eliminated as per the provisions of Leg 1's rules (see below). Tal & Mor initially arrived 8th, but were issued a 1-hour penalty as Tal was unable to complete the Roadblock. The last two teams trailing them (Bar & Inna and Nitzan & Fifi) checked in during that period, dropping Tal & Mor to last place and resulting in their elimination. Osnat & Carmit were issued a 1-hour penalty for unable to complete the ice-hockey task. Firass & Shira received a 1-hour penalty for not completing the Roadblock due to Shira's low blood pressure. Osnat & Carmit were forced to forfeit the Duel due to Ornat's injury. Osnat & Carmit initially arrived 5th, but were issued a 1-hour penalty for being "marked for elimination" and not arriving 1st. This did not affect their placement. Because Bar & Inna finished 1st, their 30-minute "marked for elimination" penalty was nullified. Akiva & Anaelle refused to take part in the Buddhist blessing ceremony. As such, they had to wait for the next team (Bar & Inna) to receive their blessing before they would receive their next clue.
Voting history For the first time in Amazing Race history, teams could vote for a U-Turn or Yield. The team with the most votes received the U-Turn or Yield penalty, depending on the leg.
U-TurnYieldU-TurnU-TurnYieldU-TurnLeg #:1234678910U-Turned/YieldedAlon & HenAlon & HenAlon & OrenTom & AdelBar & InnaAlon & OrenBar & InnaBar & InnaUnairedResult4–2–2–1–14–1–1–1–1–13–2–2–13–2–1–14–23–1–1–13–23–2VoterTeam votesBar & InnaAlon & HenAlon & HenTom & AdelTom & AdelTom & AdelOsnat & CarmitAkiva & AnaelleAkiva & AnaelleUnknownAlon & OrenAlon & HenAlon & HenAlon & HenTom & AdelTom & AdelTom & AdelAkiva & AnaelleAkiva & AnaelleUnknownAkiva & AnaelleTal & MorNitzan & FifiBar & InnaAlon & OrenBar & InnaAlon & OrenBar & InnaBar & InnaUnknownTom & AdelAlon & HenAlon & HenAlon & OrenBar & InnaBar & InnaAlon & OrenBar & InnaBar & InnaUnknownOsnat & CarmitFirass & ShiraTom & AdelBar & InnaTom & AdelBar & InnaPundak & MotiBar & InnaBar & InnaUnknownPundak & MotiAlon & HenAlon & HenAlon & HenAlon & HenBar & InnaAlon & OrenAlon & HenPundak & MotiPundak & MotiAlon & OrenAlon & OrenFirass & ShiraNitzan & FifiOsnat & CarmitAlon & OrenNitzan & FifiFirass & ShiraFirass & ShiraTal & MorPundak & Moti
Episode titles Translated from Hebrew from the official website:
Prizes Legs 1-7, 9-10 – A vacation
Race summary
Leg 1 (Israel → Hungary)
Airdates: 25 & 30 October, 1 November 2011 Jerusalem, Israel (Teddy Stadium) (Starting Line) Ruhama () Tel Aviv (Ben Gurion Airport – Terminal 3) (Elimination Point) Tel Aviv (Ben Gurion Airport) to Budapest, Hungary (Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport) Pilisvörösvár (Shivabenstube Restaurant) Puss Laci (Pigsty) Budapest (Gundel Restaurant or City Park) Budapest (City Park) Budapest (Óbuda Square) Mogyoród (Astra Filmstudios) Budapest (Széchenyi Thermal Bath)
This season's first Detour was a choice between קרקס (Qerqes – Circus) or ואלס (Vales – Waltz). In Circus, teams had to perform circus acts. One team member had to walk on a tightrope, and the other team member had to balance on a board placed on a wheel to receive their next clue. In Waltz, teams had to learn and perform a waltz for a panel of judges with teams needing to score at least 20 points to receive their next clue.
In this season's first Roadblock, one team member would be slowly lowered into a vat of water with their hands and feet secured by iron chains much like Hungarian escape artist Harry Houdini and had to escape by finding the correct keys from a set of keys to unlock their shackles and receive their next clue.
Additional tasks At Teddy Stadium, teams had to retrieve the key for their vehicle by untangling a pile of ropes. They then had to climb rope ladders to reach a platform suspended by a crane, where their car was sitting, and enter the car. After honking the horn, teams would be lowered to the ground and would receive their next clue.