Israelis search Google for reality TV

Israelis surfing the web in 2013 were hungry for info on reality TV shows more than anything else, end-of-year Google data showed, with the ever-popular reality hit “Big Brother” topping the “Hot Searches” list, followed closely by the local version of “The Amazing Race.”

“Hot searches,” in Google-speak, are terms that saw the sharpest rise in popularity over the past year.

Other sought-after TV sensations included “X Factor,” “The Bachelor” and the fourth season of “The Arbitrator,” a drama series about the Israeli mafia, dubbed by TV critics as “The Sopranos” of the Jewish state.

Not unsurpriginly, the internet giant also saw a spike in Web searches for Arik Einstein, the iconic Israeli singer-songwriter who died three weeks ago. Einstein was third in Google’s list of most-searched Israeli men, after Israeli singer Eyal Golan and Golan’s nemesis, blogger Omri Hayoun, who contravened a police gag order in revealing Golan’s identity after the singer was linked to an alleged underage sex scandal.

Einstein was trailed by other pivotal Israeli figures such as the late leader of the Shas party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, whose funeral was attended by hundreds of thousands of followers in October, and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, who led the chart for most-searched Israeli politicians.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the equivalent list of women was topped by supermodel (and now TV personality) Bar Refaeli, surpassing Big Brother contestant Or Daniel and singer Sarit Hadad.

Arik Einstein’s second wife Sima Eliyahu and ex-Labor party chairwomen Shelly Yachimovich were on the list for trending Israeli women.

Online favorites for Israelis further included the phrases “how to vote in the elections,” “how to find a doppelganger,” and “how do you catch polio,” as well as “Candy Crush,” “Harlem Shake,” and everyone’s Hollywood BFF, Jennifer Lawrence.

The phrase “most searched” aptly topped the list for Israel’s most searched phrases, Google said.