He was born and raised in Israel and served three years in the Israeli navy on the Red Sea where he befriended the Bedouins of the Sinai Desert who greatly influenced him with their wholesome philosophy and nomadic lifestyle. To date, no matter where he lives, Yossi always constructs a tent, be it on the top of his apartment or the backyard of his house, that becomes the center of the family life.

Yossi studied Jewish Philosophy and Business Administration in Tel Aviv University followed by a comprehensive study of the 'Kabala' in authentic environments. A truth seeker by an inner calling, Yossi continuously studied religions and philosophy including the Ancients, the Classics, the Eastern, the Contemporary and the Shamanic path.

His first book 'Jungle' based on his harrowing adventures in South America was first published in 1986 and soon became an international bestseller translated in 10 language and published in over 20 countries thus far. In 2006 Darlow-Smithson (of 'Touching the Void' fame) in cooperation with The Discovery Channel has released an acclaimed docudrama titled 'Escape from the Amazon' based on Yossi's story. Currently a full scale motion picture based on the yossi's book is under production.

In 1992, Yossi returned to the Amazon and made it his home. He engaged himself fully in the preservation of the Amazon Basin and the empowerment of its Indeginous Inhabitants; organizing symposiums and conducting informative workshops on their intellectual properties. Together with an interdisciplinary team of sceintists he established 'Ethnobios' a biodiversity prospecting enterprise. And, together with the 'Takana' tribe of the 'Tuichi Valley' he initiated 'The Chalalan Project', a model eco-resort, fully owned and managed by these indegionous forest dweller. His contribution to the region was instruemntal ito the creation of 'The Madidi National Park' and it won him international acclaim.

In 1995 he was appointed Vice President of The Center for Investigation & Treatment of Addiction (CITA). In this capacity for the next 7 years, Yossi dedicated his life to promoting a new humanitarian approach for the treatment of opiate addiction, establishing 12 treatment and research centers around the world from Mexico to China. As part of this initiative he also launched the ’Alma Libre Foundation’ to help in educating societies about the disease of opiate addiction and to promote the reintegration of rehabilitated patients back into society without prejudice.

In 2001 during the peak of the Palestinian ’intifada’, Yossi was invited to return to Israel to produce a reconciliation festival. Despite the escalation of violence in the region, the festival managed to attract spiritual leaders of Judaism and Islam as well as unprecedented audiences. Yossi interest in conflict resolution is expressed firstly in his personal life and actively extended to organizational, local and global levels.

He is a sought after inspirational and motivational speaker and at times seminar-leader to the world's top corporations and organizations throughout the globe.  

His new book 'Laws of the Jungle', is a book of insights derived from his life experience and inspired by living in the Amazon and observing Nature. The book has been recently published in the US, Israel and Korea. He now works on his third book; 'Glimpses' a fictional autobiography. Yossi in cooperation with his musician friends has also published a children CD titled: 'Mr. Sleep and the Flying Green Toad' and is now working on his second CD also titled 'Laws of the Jungle'.

Passionate about cultural immersion and driven by his deep believe in Earth as a global village home to all of us; Yossi can communicate well in seven languages and can say 'why are you laughing?' in about 50 more. 

In 2008 Yossi established an innovative venture in the field of Web 3.0, developing a multidimensional semantic browser. The working title for this venture is 'a brave new web'.   

Yossi is a yoga practitioner, he does not own a TV and he does not play golf. 

He is happily married to Belinda Yong and is the proud father to three beautiful girls, Mia (23), Cayam (5) and Nissim (2).

Yossi shares his time between ’Quandong’, his home in the heart of an Australian rainforest, Tel Aviv and the rest of the world.