The race is on

Channel 2’s ‘Hamerotz Lamillion’ adds several new elements to the mix with its first pair of Anglo contestants.

By RUTH BELOFF
Hamerotz Lamillion Anglo Israeli contestant 370 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Hamerotz Lamillion Anglo Israeli contestant 370
(photo credit: Courtesy)
When you tune in to the third season of Hamerotz Lamillion (The Race to the Million), one of Israeli TV’s most highly rated shows, don’t be surprised to hear one of the couples in the competition speaking Hebrew with an unmistakably Anglo inflection. For Hamerotz Lamillion, the Israeli version of the wildly popular American franchise The Amazing Race, this is the first time an Anglo-Israeli couple has been selected as one of the participating pairs.
The duo are Ronny Zaltzman from Johannesburg, and his wife, Andrea Simantov-Zaltzman, a native New Yorker.
With Ronny at 60 and Andrea at 57, they are also the oldest couple to take part in the harrowing fight to the finish. The race is a real challenge for the Zaltzmans, who are both grandparents from their previous marriages, as well as newlyweds (they got married a year and a half ago).
The premise of the show is that 11 couples are pitted against each other in a grueling competition that sends them around the world, where they race against time and each other to complete outrageous challenges that require strength, strategy and stamina.
Every week on average, another couple is eliminated until the last pair standing wins the grand prize. In the American show the prize is $1 million, while in the Israeli version it’s NIS 1 million.
The new season will air on Channel 2 (date not yet determined). Stay tuned for when Hamerotz Lamillion hits the airwaves. The race is on.