In the UK, Big Brother is known for turning fame-hungry contestants – the Nadias, Chantelles and Jade Goodys of this world – into instant celebrities. Though normally no more high-brow, Israel's equivalent has this year achieved a surprising twist, by making a superstar out of "Palestine sympathiser" Saar Szekely.
Szekely, 27, is the wild-card candidate whose stated objective was to voice leftwing views on prime-time television. In a house full of reactionaries and with a predominantly rightwing audience, Szekely's mission looked certain to be short-lived. But for all the Facebook pages clamouring for his annihilation, the Tel Aviv-based artist has made it to tomorrow night's final, and along the way become something of a heart-throb.
Entering the house in January, Szekely was, for the first few weeks, overshadowed by the usual extreme eccentrics – a newlywed couple, a prostitute, a "transfer-housemate" from Big Brother Argentina. Nine weeks into the show, however, his conversations started to get more air time, and have become the focus of the series.
"I like the way he expresses himself," says one viewer, Shelly Malnick, 23, from Haifa. "I don't agree with everything he says. There are harsh things he has said about soldiers that were really hard to listen to. But he doesn't stoop to bickering – he has a backbone and he never steps down from a well-mannered discussion. That is why most Israelis love him." It helps, she says, that he is "very good looking". More leftwing viewers, needless to say, are smitten.
But it was the development of his unlikely friendship with housemate Eran Tartakovsky – a former Israeli army officer – that, according to the Maariv Daily's deputy editor, Shai Golden, sparked Szekely's success. "Eran embracing him was like giving him a kosher stamp," said Golden.
Eran, who claimed in his audition tape to "hate Arabs more than I hate cancer", was Szekely's hawkish counterpart on the show. But the ploy backfired when the pair bonded: "They became close. It took the leftist extremism out of Saar and put the man in front."
While the level of political debate in the UK's Big Brother has stalled at the racism saga involving Shilpa Shetty, or the violent scream-fest in 2004 – with Emma threatening to "fucking kill" Victor and Jason to "rip the head off" Marco, the Israeli version has become altogether more nuanced. Sunbathing with other housemates, Tartakovsky and Szekely would shift from daily chit-chat to the purpose of the Israeli army and back again. While other housemates stormed off, asking Tartakovsky in shock how he can listen to him "call your friends murderers", Tartakovsky looked unfazed.
"They just have the most amazing conversations; very calm, very un-Big Brother-like," says Ami Kaufman, co-creator of 972 Magazine, that set one of Szekely's political debates viral on Twitter. "I think that's one of the only things I like about this reality show: the dialogues are very representative of the political discourse that goes on in this country. Percentage-wise, it's probably the equivalent to what's going on outside the house as well. It is very symbolic of what is going on in Israel."
Even bringing in another radical rightwinger, Tzvi Portal, halfway through the season failed to stoke the fire. Szekely was amiable towards the loud-mouthed Portal, who was soon evicted.
Animosity towards Szekely, however, has been vocal. The debate Kaufman posted shows Szekely calling Ariel (a district in Someron) "a panhandle … intentionally designed to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state". The province responded by publishing its own disparaging statement against him. The backlash has extended to his hometown, Ashkelon. "Usually," Kaufman explains, "when people find out who the five finalists are, each of their hometowns goes into a big campaign to vote for the 'homeboy'. This isn't happening now in Ashkelon, they're actually very ashamed of Saar Szekely. He doesn't represent them. He doesn't really represent many Israelis."
But Golden thinks the mix has turned out a great success. "Until now, reality TV in Israel has been reluctant to put politics in the forefront because it doesn't make for good entertainment," he says. "I think there are two elements to Israelis' obsession with reality TV: escapism and a substitute for violence. Putting Saar in was a real risk."
Yoram Zak, producer of Big Brother, certainly has no regrets: "I just really liked his style," he commented. "When I asked him why he wanted to join the house he said, 'If you're going to broadcast this garbage the least I can do is bring some real content to it.' I liked that."
The series has so far received some of the highest viewer ratings Israeli TV has ever had (an average of three in 10 Israelis a night), not least because of the controversy created by Szekely. Though one of the frontrunners, general consensus is that his controversial views will deny him the title. But either way, there are wins in this story for Szekely, for Big Brother and for Israel.
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