Paldiel was born into a Hasidic family of Szlomo Wajsfeld, a diamond trader originally from Miechów near Kraków, and Hinde (née Labin) from Uhnów (now Ukraine) as one of their five children before World War II.

Thanks to a Catholic Priest who was able to smuggle them across the border,[3] the family fled from Nazi occupied Belgium via France to Switzerland in 1940 when he was 3 years old.

Paldiel is the former Director (1984–2007) of the Department of the Righteous Among the Nations at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

The couple has 3 children, son Eli and daughters Sigalit "Siggy" and Iris.

His eldest daughter Siggy Flicker is a relationship expert and television personality who appeared on the Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of New Jersey from 2016 to 2018.