Yossi Katz, born in Philadelphia, has a degree in Jewish and Arab history from Temple University in Philadelphia and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

After making Aliyah to Israel in 1978, he served in Tzahal (Israel Defense Forces) for over twenty-five years as a combat soldier in a reconnaissance unit of the Armored Corps.

He is the former Israeli National Light-Middleweight boxing champion and since 1980 he has taught at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI). A father of three and a grandfather to three grandchildren, Yossi Katz resides in Netanya.