[1] Born in Jerusalem and the son of footballer Shlomo Poliakov, he originally chose a career as a farmer and studied at the Kfar HaYarok agricultural high school.

His credits include The Israeli Family, The Rubber Merchants, God's Finger, Mother Courage and The Return of Moris Shpigelman.

[1] Avraham Deshe [he] ("Pachanel"), a producer and agent who died of cancer in 2004 at age 78, started HaGashash HaHiver in late 1963.

[6] The judges wrote of their award decision: The uniqueness of HaGashash HaHiver is in its two faces: On the one hand, it reflects the life and the culture that were created in Israel during its first 50 years and in the course of wars, immigration absorption and the struggle for its existence.

[1][7]Yisrael Poliakov died of liver cancer at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva on October 30, 2007, at the age of 66, following a two-week hospitalization for heart problems.

Poliakov's coffin was taken to Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv for a public memorial service, and was buried in a cemetery in Kibbutz Einat.

[1] Fellow HaGashash HaHiver member Yeshayahu Levy told Israel Army Radio: "...lost a brother.