Israel was born on January 1, 1917 in Rishon LeZion to his parents Yaakov and Esther bat Israel, who made aliyah in 1888.

His father worked in a Rishon LeZion winery, while his mother cared for twelve children. The economic situation at home was dire. Yisrael studied in the Habib elementary school, then moved on to the Geula commercial school in Tel Aviv. While he was still young, he joined Beitar, and at seventeen, he joined the Hagana (Nationalist). When the split occurred, he joined Lehi. He would go out with Lehi members in the Be’er Yaakov company to protect them from IZL members who tried to take over the company.

In Lehi, he took a firearms course and instructed fighters. He directed operations to seize cash from the British Army payroll department on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv. He was responsible for the armories. In his parents’ orchard, he hid fighters sought by the police. He was very active on behalf of the wives of fighters who were imprisoned.

Once the State was establsiehd, he enlisted in the IDF but was discharged because of his poor health.

In 1955, he married Simcha Mughrabi, and they had three children. Simcha helped him while he served in Lehi. Yisrael ran a nursery for fruit trees and worked in agriculture.

In 1969, he was elected deputy mayor of Rishon LeZion, a position he held for a number of years. Among his public activities was helping to establish Beit Yair.