Democracies do not just suddenly disappear they are gradually eroded from within by their enemies, similar to the way in which cliffs are eroded by the ocean: wave after wave, sometimes gentle, sometimes ferocious, until they finally collapse.

There is never a dull moment in Israeli politics, and as much as the announcement by the Israeli government of the dismissal of Ronen Bar, the chief of the Shin Bet (one of Israel’s security services), had been expected for some time, the timing of it was still a surprise.

In a low-key ceremony at the headquarters of the Israeli military last week, Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi, who commanded the army during the calamitous Oct. 7 Hamas massacre and its aftermath, was replaced by Eyal Zamir.

In December, when the German government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, lost the confidence of the Bundestag, not only did it spark a general election, it also provoked the fear of a deepening international crisis on top of the domestic one.