He studied at a school of the Alliance Israélite Universelle and later at the Spanish Lyceum in Tétouan.

Upon reaching adulthood, he served in the Israel Defense Forces under the Nahal Brigade.

In 1958, he began working with Bnei Akiva, travelling back to Morocco, France, and other Maghrebi countries.

While working for Bnei Akiva, he met his wife, a French Jew of Hungarian origin.

[citation needed] Bentolila was the head of the Hebrew Language Department at Ben-Gurion University from 1974 to 1992.