Yosef Issaschar was born in 1930 in Rishon LeZion to Haim and Bracha Issaschar. His family made aliya to Israel in 1926 through Port Said in Egypt and settled in Kerem Hateymanim. Shortly after, they moved to Rishon LeZion and then Tirat Shalom. The conditions and the adjustment process were difficult – the family of five had to live in a small hut until the houses were built, which took about 2 years.

Shmuel, Yosef’s older brother, who had been active in Lehi since the split in 1940, recruited Yosef to the underground in 1946. His job was to keep guard so that no one suspected the local Lehi cell. Yosef participated in weapons courses and assisted in building a hideout in the family home.

With the independence of Israel and the dissolution of Lehi, he enlisted in the IDF with other Lehi members in Sheikh Munis and served in the 8^th Brigade, Battalion 89.