Levontin was born in Tel Aviv in 1922. He studied at the High School of Law and Economics, specializing in Arabic and Egyptian Islamic culture. During the 1940s he studied law at the University of London. He wrote his doctorate thesis in the field of public international law at Harvard University. During the course of his professional career, Levontin worked for a brief period as an attorney in Israel and received a license to practice law in England. He also served as a member of the Israeli delegation to the United Nations. Despite his strong interest in both private practice and diplomacy, he was among the founding staff of the Faculty of Law in 1949, serving as dean of the Faculty in 1958-1959. Levontin taught a range of subjects at the Faculty, including the laws of penalization, the laws of obligations, property law, the theory of law, and British law, though his primary research interest was in private international law.  In addition to his extensive knowledge in all fields of law, Levontin also maintained a strong interest in the natural sciences, national and social life, and international relations.

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