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No, your persistent point has been (excuse the paraphrase), "It isn't just the FAA, the airlines have determined it is not safe to go to Israel. Rockets are falling everyone where. WAAAAAA!"

The fact is, discontinuing service to Tel Aviv is a political move, which rewards the terrorists (gee, thanks Star Traveler, you are doing a great job helping out). El Al is one of the safest, most conservative airlines in the world. They didn't flinch. British Airways, likewise, and in their case ignored a warning from the EU.

As to the sequence of events, it was not the Delta captain that diverted from his JFK to TLV route, it was Delta operations that diverted the flight (I am an Airbus captain, and our jets are high tech, but we don't get news in flight, even NOTAMs - we rely on our operations to give us in-flight information).

After Delta diverted, it is likely their local FAA was notified by Delta operations. The FAA issued their NOTAM at 12:15 EDT for 24 hours. United cancelled their two flights from EWR after that. US Airways cancelled only their Wednesday night flight from PHL. By late afternoon, Delta has made their plans "indefinite" and US Airways issued a press release that said they were canceling through Saturday. This morning US Airways changed their plans and said that they would in fact fly Thursday if the FAA NOTAM was lifted.

"Them's the facts" - but feel free to keep on quoting from various blogs etc. - and please wear a "I'm Star Traveler and I quote from the Internet" sign the next time you fly. I'll introduce myself as a 34-year (56 year-old) Airbus captain, and show you I am not in my parent's basement.

It’s not political but it’s a business that the airlines are running and they suspend flights on a legitimate business decision, which also has to do with the safety of their passengers.

FAA extends ban on US flights to Israel by 24 hours
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3184084/posts

http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Lufthansa-Delta-extend-flight-bans-to-Israel-368616

Lufthansa, Delta, US Airways extend flight bans to Israel along with US Federal Aviation Administration along with most European airlines.

The FAA on Tuesday said it told US carriers they were prohibited from flying to or from Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for up to 24 hours, citing “the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict in Israel and Gaza.” The FAA later extended the ban by another 24 hours on Wednesday evening.

The decision to halt flights to Israel follows the downing last week of a Malaysia Airlines jet over Ukraine with nearly 300 aboard.

Germany’s Lufthansa on Wednesday suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv for an additional 24 hours. The decision also applies to Germanwings, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines.

“At the present time no adequate authoritative new information is available that would justify a resumption of flights. In close coordination with the responsible authorities Lufthansa is continually evaluating the safety situation for its total flight network,” the company said.

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Germany’s airline says ... “At the present time no adequate authoritative new information is available that would justify a resumption of flights. In close coordination with the responsible authorities Lufthansa is continually evaluating the safety situation for its total flight network,” the company said.