He received his B.Sc. degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1966. Later he studied at the Weizmann Institute of Science and completed his doctorate in 1972. Before 1980 he worked primarily on high-energy astrophysics and became well-known for his kinematical model of the star system SS 433. In the academic years 1980–1981 and 1985–1986 he was at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. In 1983, he proposed modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) as an alternative to the dark matter and galaxy rotation curve problems, although preliminary work and discussions on this subject started as early as 1981.