Does it even matter why VS fly to TLV...? As stated they're exclusively widebody, and they saw a chance to fill one. VS' current CEO was also Chief Commercial Officer and CFO previously, so it can be assumed he knows his stuff from a variety of business viewpoints.

Maybe BA would only look to utilise a widebody again if LY/VS loads are high enough to justify it - as noted, they're short of frames, so perhaps the removal of a bigger aircraft on this route has helped them elsewhere (for example, relaunching KUL?). I am sure though that there are customers who, in these times, don't mind flying a smaller aircraft if they're paying a bit less for the pleasure.