Yosef was born on November 18,1908 in Urdia, Romania to Esther and Haim-Shlomo Goldstein. His family was very religious – the father being  son to a Scriptural scribe. Yosef received a religious Jewish education, but also studied and graduated from a secular school. He joined Beitar at a young age, was very active, organized Beitar in his town, and was made its secretary. He aspired to reach Eretz Yisrael, and constantly sought ways to do so. In 1933 he finally managed to obtain a Certificate and make aliya. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Haganah. For his livelihood he entered electronics, began a small repair and spares workshop becoming in time, a pioneer importer of electronic parts and equipment to Israel. He married Leah Yost in Romania, 1932. They had three children; two sons, Achinoam and Yehoshafat, and a daughter – Ofra. They had nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His political outlook maintained that the British administration was to be fought until expulsion from the land, and in the 1940s he joined Lehi. Yosef worked intensely to further the realm of electronics in Lehi, assembling clandestine radio transmitters and developing additional operational means. Lehi’s clandestine radio broadcasts  ran largely due to his professional input and know-how. The business he had started in Tel Aviv, eventually became ‘Givon Electronics’ . In 1950 the plant became ‘Yosef Givon & Sons’, and in 1972 ‘Givon  Electronics Ltd.’ plus ‘Givon Agencies Ltd’. Following  establishment of the State Yosef engaged in linguistics as a hobby (21 words which he renewed were accepted by the Academy of Science). Many years he collected  English abbreviations  concerning electricity, electronics, telecommunications and computers, editing a dictionary of about five thousand acronyms. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce for many years. He remarried after his first wife passed away. Yosef passed away  on July 18,1997, and was laid to rest at the Kiryat-Shaul Cemetery.