Avi Mograbi was born in Tel Aviv to migrant parents. His mother fled to Palestine from Germany in the 1930s; his father was born in Beirut, Lebanon to an Arab-speaking Jewish family. Like all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, he was required to join the Israel Defence Forces for military service. He was a non-combatant He became a reservist, and when in 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon, he was recruited to serve as a combatant. He conscientiously objected and was jailed.