Israel Dresner was born on 22 April 1929 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. He was married to Toby Silverman. He died on 13 January 2022 in Wayne, New Jersey, USA.
He received a master's degree in international relations from the University of Chicago. He worked in Israel on a kibbutz until he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served stateside during the Korean War as a chaplain's assistant, which inspired him to become a rabbi. He attended the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, and was ordained in 1961.