An Israeli-American hacker who made over 2,000 threats against US Jewish institutions, airlines, and even a professional basketball team's plane was jailed for 10 years today in Israel.

Michael Kadar, 20, made the threats against Jewish institutions in the United States sparking fears of a rise in anti-Semitism in the country.

He was also suspected of making a hoax bomb call to Delta Airlines, forcing an emergency landing, and another against an El Al flight over Switzerland.

Swiss and French warplanes were scrambled to escort the Israeli plane and prepare to shoot it down if it became clear it was going to crash into a Swiss city.

Michael Kadar turns his head away in shame after a hearing in 2017; he was jailed for 10 years by an Israeli court after being convicted of making more than 2,000 threats against US Jewish and other institutions

Kadar was also convicted of making similar threats against flights over New Zealand and Australia.

Others were against a plane flying the Boston Celtics US basketball team to a game and against Delaware state senator Ernesto Lopez.

Some of the offences were committed when he was a minor, the court ruled.

Israeli courts have not identified the accused because of his age, but he was also indicted in the United States and they have named him as Michael Ron David Kadar.

His lawyer argued that he may not have been aware of the severity of his actions because he had a brain tumor and was autistic.

But the judge said he 'has a high IQ and understands his deeds very well.'

The ruling at Tel Aviv district youth court stated: 'If not for his medical condition, the defendant would have received a much longer sentence.'

He called some 2,000 institutions between April 2015 and March 2017, including schools, malls, police stations, hospitals and Jewish institutions.

He also used email to make threats and indicated that 'an act of terror was going to take place in their location.'

Kadar, who is Jewish and from the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, was arrested in March 2017 after the wave of bomb threats against Jewish institutions in the United States.

The threats accompanied fears that hate crimes and anti-Semitic acts could be on the increase.

Israeli airline El Al was targeted by bomb hoax threats from Kadar which caused Swiss and French warplanes to scramble escort it, with instructions to potentially shoot it down

He used technology to distort his voice and hide his identity.

In addition, Kadar was accused of attacking and wounding a police officer while in custody and instructing people online on making poison and bombs.

Authorities said he was also in possession of child pornography.

'The court recognized the damage and panic the defendant caused many people around the world with his actions,' Yoni Haddad of the state attorney's cyber division said in a statement after the sentencing.

'The defendant committed his felonies with sophistication, using fake identities and with the aim of terrorizing the public.'