Yehuda Bessner grew up in Montreal and attended the Hebrew Academy private Jewish school there. An article from the Mizrachi World Movement states that Bessner was “inspired by his teachers” to immigrate to Israel. He attended Yeshivat Hakotel, a religious, Zionist yeshiva, in a program that requires students to complete military service. He was drafted into the Israeli military during his second year at the yeshiva, and served as a machine gunner in the Givati Brigade until 2021. The brigade received international attention in 2022 after some of its soldiers were accused and later found guilty of spitting at the Armenian archbishop and other Christian pilgrims during a procession in Jerusalem.

After finishing his service in the military, Bessner went on to study pharmacy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also currently works as a chapter director at Israel NCSY, according to his LinkedIn, which describes itself as the “premier youth movement in Israel dedicated to connecting, inspiring and empowering English-speaking teens through the values of Zionism, Torah and Tradition.”