Big Brother Israel — Season 5 (2013)

The fifth season of Big Brother Israel attracted enormous public interest before it began. More than 20,000 people applied to be cast, and every selected housemate had undergone at least one audition as well as psychological and medical examinations before entering the house.[5] The Neve Ilan compound was equipped with 55 cameras, while the production employed 298 people and had 123 people working on it each day.[5] The season ultimately featured 23 housemates and was the show's longest and largest season to that point.[2]

Four camera operators filmed the morning shift and nine filmed the night shift, with each shift lasting nine hours.[5] A production rule prevented housemates from meeting staff unless those staff members were dressed to conceal their identities.[5] The season preview projected 34 live broadcasts and a duration of three months and three weeks; the completed season ran for 115 days.[5][1]

In May 2013, contestants entered the Neve Ilan house, where they were isolated from outside news and media while cameras recorded them around the clock.[2][1] Less than a week after the program began, Karin Ben Galim voluntarily left the house, citing personal reasons — a departure that preceded the later expulsions of Roni and Gili Miley.[1]

The season included two romances: Paulina Albertstein and Leon Shuvsky, and Or Daniel and Dor Damari.[1] Paulina and Or were evicted before the finale, temporarily separating both couples, while Leon and Dor advanced to the final five. Or had joined the house as a new contestant midway through the season.[1]

Tahounia Rubel, an Ethiopian-born model from Beit Shemesh, became a central figure in the season's major storylines.[2][6] One pivotal episode involved a house task staged as a mock trial, during which contestants accused Rubel of using her Ethiopian origins as an excuse to attack other housemates. She responded by discussing racism she had experienced, her name having been changed, and the shame and anger associated with those experiences. The episode drew 38.7% of households.[7]

Season five included two major disciplinary incidents involving father and son Roni and Gili Miley, both of whom were expelled by the production for violating house rules.[1] Roni was expelled first after verbally abusing Lavana Gogman, with the production stating that his remarks "hurt an entire sector." About a month and a half later, Gili was expelled following harsh remarks directed at Anat Tzaig.[1]

Both men had previously made offensive remarks about Tahounia Rubel concerning her skin color.[1] Their conduct toward Rubel was described as racist, while views expressed about Anat and Lavana were described as homophobic.[2] Neither Roni nor Gili was invited to the season finale.[1]

The finale aired in August 2013, concluding the 115-day season. The eviction sequence began with Itai Volach, a housemate who had entered midway through the season but still reached the final, followed by Dor Damari.[1] Host Erez Tal noted that only 36 votes separated the contestants who finished fourth and third, with Leon Shuvsky departing in third place.[1]

Tahounia Rubel was then announced as the winner, with Lavana Gogman finishing second.[1] Rubel, 25 at the time, received one million shekels before tax.[2][1] Her victory made her the first Ethiopian winner of HaAh HaGadol.[2]

During the finale coverage, Erez Tal said he dedicated Rubel's victory to expelled contestant Roni Miley. Miley objected that the host should not express an opinion on air, while Tal rejected Miley's self-characterization as a victim and accused him of having bullied other housemates.[8]

Season five delivered exceptional ratings by Israeli television standards. It averaged a 36.6% rating and 976,000 viewers per episode and was characterized as the most-watched season in Israeli television history during the summer season.[3]

The finale averaged a 41.6% rating, corresponding to approximately 1.25 million viewers, and peaked at 44.8% during the announcement of the winner.[3][6] Estimates placed finale advertising and sponsorship revenue at nearly 9.2 million shekels, with total advertising and sponsorship revenue across the full season, including the finale, at close to 100 million shekels.[6]

A survey conducted after the finale found that 92.5% of Big Brother viewers considered statements by Gili and Roni Miley to be racist.[4] MK Penina Tamano-Shata said Tahounia's experiences had prompted discussion of racism outside the house, while cautioning that a single victory would not quickly change the circumstances facing the Ethiopian Israeli community.[4]

Interpretations of Rubel's victory differed sharply. Some interviewees described it as an important source of visibility and hope for Ethiopian Israelis, while others cautioned that a reality-show victory did not demonstrate that the community had achieved equality or full integration.[7] A 2015 Times of Israel article later discussed Rubel's win alongside Yityish Titi Aynaw's 2013 Miss Israel title while examining the commercial prospects of Ethiopian-descended models in Israel.[9]