Judge committee picks four new Supreme Court justices

Lebanese media: Israeli troops planted ‘spying devices’ over border

Lebanese news outlets are reporting that Israeli soldiers crossed the border with Lebanon near Mays al-Jabal and planted solar-powered “espionage devices” in southern Lebanon.

العدو الإسرائيلي يخرق السياج التقني في خراج بلدة ميس الجبل جنوب #لبنان في منطقة الخط الأزرق ويزرع أجهزة تجسس يتم تغذيتهما بالطاقة الشمسية pic.twitter.com/59z2sjMHk8

— الاعلام الحربي مركزي (@C_Military1) February 22, 2017

The report comes amid reports by Lebanese government news outlets of Israeli aircraft overflying southern Lebanon and a reported Israeli airstrike in Syria.

Turkey presidency calls on Israel to halt settlement policy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman says his state calls on Israel to stop its illegal settlement policy, Reuters reports.

Iran says IDF not of ‘such proportions’ to pose a threat

In the final day of an Iranian military drill, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps tells local media that “the message carried by these drills is preparedness and awareness.”

“We are prepared to confront whatever threat is posed to the Islamic Republic’s establishment. Of course, the Zionist regime [of Israel] is not of such proportions” to pose any such threats, Brigadier-General Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian tells PressTV.

Netanyahu: We need to fight anti-Semitism together

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Australia and spoke to the Jewish community about the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and elsewhere.

“The resurgence of anti-Semitism that we see in many parts of the world, this is something that we need to fight together. It’s important in Europe, it’s important in America. It’s very important that President Trump took a strong stance against anti-Semitism and it’s important that we all continue to do so in the years ahead.”

Here’s the full video of the speech.

IDF chief says no eagerness in Gaza to launch war

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot speaks up about the appointment of Yahya Sinwar as head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“The separation of the political and military leadership in Hamas is blurred to the point of being eliminated altogether,” Channel 10 quotes Eisenkot telling the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. “I don’t see willingness in Gaza to launch a campaign against us.”

‘Arbeit macht frei’ sign returns to Dachau

An iron gate with the infamous slogan “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work will set you free”), stolen from the former Nazi concentration camp of Dachau in Germany two years ago, was returned to the site Wednesday.

The theft of the 100-kilo (220-pound) gate was reported in November 2014, sparking uproar, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel calling the crime “appalling.”

It was recovered outside Bergen in southwestern Norway last December following an anonymous tip-off.

At a ceremony marking the return of the gate, the president of the International Dachau Committee, Jean-Michel Thomas, urged investigators to press on with the probe into the theft.

— AFP

Arab League condemns Azaria sentence

The Arab League condemned on Wednesday an Israeli court sentence of 18 months in prison for a soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian assailant, saying it reflected “racism.”

The military court sentenced Elor Azaria on Tuesday after he was convicted of manslaughter for killing Abdul Fatah al-Sharif in Hebron in March last year.

He also received 18 months in suspended sentences and was demoted from sergeant to private.

“The Israeli military court ruling exposes the level of Israeli disregard for Palestinian blood… and the extent of racism in the occupation’s institutions,” the 22-member bloc said in a statement.

— AFP

Wife of Bedouin man killed by police at protest says truth becoming clear

The wife of a Bedouin man shot dead by police during a protest last month in the village of Umm al-Hiran tells Army Radio that her husband didn’t run over the police officer who was killed deliberately.

“We had no doubt,” Amal Abu Saad says, adding that the truth about the incident is starting to become clear. “Everyone who knew Yakoub knew and believed that this was the truth. Jews and Arabs alike who knew him didn’t believe he would do such a thing.”

SodaStream issues exploding bottle recall

Israeli beverage company SodaStream has issued a recall for around 59,000 bottles in the US and Canada for a defect that could cause the bottles to explode.

The company is asking customers to return the bottles for a refund.

Jewish man arrested after wielding knife, threatening people in Arabic

Police arrested a 51-year-old Jewish man in Bnei Brak after he got onto a public bus wielding a knife and threatening passengers while shouting “God is great” and “Kill the Jews” in Arabic.

Officers who arrived at the scene arrested the man, a spokesperson says. The spokesperson adds that the motive apparently wasn’t terrorism.

UN Syria envoy says ‘not expecting’ breakthrough at talks

The UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said Wednesday he was “not expecting a breakthrough” at peace talks this week but voiced hope that rival sides could build “momentum” toward a deal.

“Am I expecting a breakthrough? No, I am not expecting a breakthrough,” de Mistura told reporters on the eve of UN-brokered negotiations in Geneva, adding that he hoped this round could lead to further talks on a political solution to the six-year conflict.

— AFP

San Diego-area JCC evacuated after email bomb threat

A San Diego-area Jewish community center was evacuated after receiving a bomb threat in an email.

It was the second time in three weeks that the Lawrence Family JCC in La Jolla had to be evacuated.

After the JCC received the email early Tuesday morning, the San Diego Police Department swept the building and did not find any explosives. The JCC was reopened by 7 a.m.

One day earlier, 11 JCCs across the country received phone calls containing bomb threats.

The La Jolla JCC was evacuated on Jan. 31 after receiving a bomb threat phone call along with 16 other JCCs across the country. It was one of four waves of bomb threats to JCCs in about five weeks.

— JTA

IDF says Iron Dome tests successful

The IDF announces the successful completion of a series of tests on the Iron Dome system.

A series of complex #tests performed on the “Iron Dome” Aerial #Defense System were successfully completed today#Video credit: @Israel_MOD pic.twitter.com/L9KiuWMo34

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) February 22, 2017

Leah Adler, Spielberg’s mom and popular restaurateur, dies at 97

Leah Adler, the mother of director Steven Spielberg and a well-known restaurateur, has died.

Adler, also a former concert pianist and accomplished painter, died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 97.

Most of America and the world first heard her name when Spielberg kissed her and described her as “my lucky charm” while accepting an Academy Award as director of the film “Schindler’s List.”

— JTA

ADL headquarters in NYC gets bomb threat

The ADL’s national headquarters in New York received an anonymous bomb threat, organization head Jonathan Greenblatt says on Twitter.

“While there is no information at this time to indicate that this is more than a threat, we are taking it very seriously. We are working with law enforcement officials to determine if it is connected to similar threats against Jewish institutions across the country. This is not the first time that ADL has been targeted, and it will no deter us in our efforts to combat anti-Semitism and hate against people of all races and religions,” he says in a statement.

This morning @ADL_national received a bomb threat. We're just one of many #Jewish groups that has been targeted. More below. pic.twitter.com/2DI5JUCIY1

— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) February 22, 2017

7 Earth-size worlds found orbiting star; could hold life

For the first time, astronomers have discovered seven Earth-size planets orbiting a nearby star — and these new worlds could hold life.

NASA and the Belgian-led research team announced the news Wednesday.

This cluster of planets is 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius. They circle tightly around a dim dwarf star called Trappist-1, barely the size of Jupiter. Three planets are in the so-called habitable zone, where water and, possibly life, might exist. The others are right on the doorstep.

Scientists say they need to study the atmospheres before determining whether these planets could support some type of life.

Last spring, the University of Liege’s Michael Gillon reported finding three planets around Trappist-1. Now the count is up to seven, and Gillon says there could be more.

— AP

Panel picks four new Supreme Court justices

The Knesset committee tasked with selecting four new Supreme Court justices has made its choice.

The four new members of the highest court will be David Mintz, a Jerusalem district court judge; Yael Wilner, a Haifa district court judge; Yosef Elron, head of the Haifa district court; and George Kara, a Tel Aviv district court judge.

UN needs $4.4 billion to fight famine in four countries

UN aid agencies need $4.4 billion in emergency funding to address famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday.

More than 20 million people face starvation in the four countries and action is needed now to avert catastrophe, Guterres told a news conference at UN headquarters.

— AFP