Amitai Ben Zvi, son of Shmuel and Shifra Ben Zvi, was born in New York on March 13, 1943. The oldest of his brothers Uri and Mati, he was raised in Kibbutz Ein Hashofet. In 1972 Amitai married Miri, who was in an outside teenage group ("Hevrat No'ar" – “Renanim”) in Ein Hashofet, and together they moved to Nir Oz in the west Negev and lived there for almost 50 years. He served in a few roles in the Kibbutz in the 1980s including Treasurer and Buyer. Miri died in 2016 of cancer.

Amitai was a professional truck driver, and drove heavy trucks all over Israel his whole life. He was known for his calm and patient driving skills. Amitai was not an academic, yet very knowledgeable in areas that interested him, including physics and mechanics. He got sick with Parkinson's disease, just before he turned 60, and it affected his mobility, as well as his ability to speak. He had two advanced brain surgeries that allowed him to continue to function on an almost normative level for over 20 years despite the severe effects of the disease.

On October 7 Amitai was murdered in his home by Hamas terrorists during their attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz. He was 80 years old. His caregiver, Jimmy Pacheco (a Philippino) was abducted to Gaza and released after 49 days in a deal. Amitai left 4 biological children, an adopted daughter, and 10 grandchildren.