Before anybody gets dizzy, where exactly does anybody believe that LY finds the two ultra long-haul widebody aircraft required to service this route? Alternatively, which of the other ultra-long haul routes would it drop?

PHL makes no sense for O&D traffic, particularly with EWR <60 minutes away, and there's no network for connections. It's an AA/OW hub and LY is neither of those.

Much easier to connect at a US or EU gateway if non-stop isn't available to you. Rather than SAN-PHL-TLV, how about US-LHR-TLV on AA/BA (OW), US-FRA-TLV on LH (*A).