A new and controversial book by Israel's former ambassador to the US is aggravating the already tense ties between the two countries.
Ally, by MK Michael Oren, which came out on Tuesday, has enraged US officials and elicited a stern rebuke from Mr Oren's own party leader.
Mr Oren's memoir focuses on his dual attachment to the country of his birth and the nation he decided to make his home, as well as on the four years he spent as Israel's US envoy.
Ahead of the book's publication, Mr Oren, who is now a member of the centre-right Kulanu Party, penned a series of articles in the US media in which he argued that, while President Barack Obama was basically supportive of Israel, he "deliberately" damaged his administration's ties with the Netanyahu government in order to build better relationships with the Arab world.
The US administration was particularly angered by Mr Oren's theory that Mr Obama has engaged with Muslim leaders because of his deep desire to compensate for his mother's abandonment by two Muslim husbands.
He also claimed that some of the President's Jewish advisers, who are themselves not married to Jews, have a skewed view of the Jewish state.
In addition, Mr Oren criticised the President's view that, despite regular antisemitic statements, Iran's leaders are acting in a "rational" manner.
The administration angrily slammed Mr Oren's narrative. The US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro described it "an imaginary account" and explained that Mr Oren "was an ambassador in the past, but he is now a politician and an author who wants to sell books".
A State Department spokesman called his accusations "false" and "absolutely inaccurate".
The administration asked Mr Netanyahu to reject Mr Oren's statements, but the Prime Minister responded that he was no longer responsible for him.
Instead, Kulanu leader Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, called in his parliamentarian and rebuked him. Mr Oren, however, refused to retract and apologise.