Omer Avital was born in the small Israeli town of Givataim to parents of Moroccan and Yemenite descent. His formal training began at age 11, when he entered the Givataim Conservatory to study classical guitar. It was upon entering Talma Yalin, Israel's leading High School for the Arts, that Avital's interest switched towards jazz. He switched his focus to the acoustic bass, and soon became the leader of the school's jazz ensemble for which he wrote all the arrangements.