Israel Dostrovsky was born in Odessa, in 1918 and immigrated to Eretz-Israel as a baby with his parents in 1919, aboard the ship “Ruslan”. His father, world-renowned dermatologist Arieh Dostrovsky, became a founder of Hebrew University's medical school and of the Hadassah hospital. His first cousin, Yaacov Dori (born Yakov Dostrovsky) became the first IDF Chief of Staff.