A much-changed Netherlands side saw just four players return from the starting lineup that faced England in the semi-finals of this summer's U21 Euros - Thom van Bergen, Ernest Poku, Antoni Milambo, and Rav van den Berg started, while Elijah Dijkstra, Daan Rots, Kees Smit, and Ro-Zangelo Daal made their U21 debuts.
A slow first half in an empty Stadion De Koel in Venlo went by without much danger from either side, with a long-distance effort from left-back Rots the biggest opportunity.
The visitors took a surprising lead after an hour when Ran Binyamin cashed in on a rebound following a shot from Jong PSV forward Tai Abed. The lead did not last long, however, as Bayer Leverkusen's Ernest Poku equalised just five minutes later.
The dominant Dutch kept pushing for the winning goal against an Israel team that came out of pot 4 of the draw. Oranje were eventually rewarded for their efforts when Poku added a second, working the ball behind Dor Benyamini as he fell to the ground.
Luck eventually wasn't on the Netherlands' side after Israel equalised in injury time: Bar Lin's free kick was heavily touched by one-man wall Ernest Poku and flew past Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro, who could not do anything to prevent a late draw.
The Netherlands got off to a false start in group G of Euro U21 qualifying and now trail leaders Norway by two points after their 3-0 win over Slovenia.