Born in Jerusalem, their father, Ben, was briefly a member of the Irgun, a Zionist paramilitary group in British-mandated Palestine. Their mother was the daughter of a Chicago trade-union organiser. She was active in the civil-rights movement and often took her children to protests。
三兄弟的父亲本出生于耶路撒冷,曾有一段时间加入了英国统治巴勒斯坦时期犹太复国主义组织伊尔根。他们的母亲是一个芝加哥工会组织者的女儿。她对民权运动十分热心,还经常带着她的三个儿子参加游行。

Emanuel père had a practice as a paediatrician, but the family was not materially wealthy; the children were privately schooled and any spare cash was spent on cultural outings. Passionate debate around the dinner table was the norm. Everyone was expected to be well informed and the boys were allowed to swear. Tempers could run high. A discussion of “The Deer Hunter”, a 1978 film, ended in a brawl. For all the chaos, though, there were rules: no prejudice, cruelty or stupidity。
伊曼纽尔三兄弟的父亲曾是一名儿科医师,但是这个家庭并不是特别富裕。三个孩子都没是自己在家教育,家里的钱大多都用在与文化有关的短期出行上。在晚餐桌上进行的激烈辩论也是伊曼纽尔家的特色。他们的初衷是让每个人都能对事物有准确的了解,甚至连开口大骂也是允许的。但是要知道是脾气都有控制不住的时候。有一次,他们关于1978年的电影《猎鹿人》在他们家饭桌上的讨论最终又导致了一次大争吵。但是,无论怎么争,怎么吵,准则仍在:绝不歧视,不能残忍,不可犯糊涂。