Not directly on point but I fly to/from TLV often and flying on Shabbat usually helps, especially on the EWR-TLV leg. Better chance of upgrades, I think. Just less crowded flights because religious won't fly then. That is not a slur. Am Jewish and Israeli myself.

I assume the AC flight is similar. I don't think it will make a difference on the SFO-TLV route because the population is not very religious.

As for the Europe-TLV legs, I don't know if I have ever been on a flight with a real biz/first class. I have flown Swiss but probably the wrong flight.

Also, what about Austrian? I used miles to fly business with them earlier this year and I loved their biz/first class... But you still end up with the lousy biz/first btw Vienna and TLV.