El-Hanani was born in 1898 in Poltava, Russian Empire (today capital of the Poltava Oblast in central Ukraine), to as one of the five children of Elhanan (Afanasi) Sapozhnikov and Chava Liva Sapozhnikov(a).[4][2] His siblings were Mania Sapozhnikov, Zvi (Grisha) Elhanani, Avraham Elhanani, and Meir (Misha) Elhanani.[4]