Kulanu MK and former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published last week, accused US President Barack Obama of deliberately damaging US-Israel relations.

Kahlon sent a letter to US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro on Wednesday, in which the Kulanu leader explained that Oren’s criticism of the Obama administration reflected Oren’s “own personal views” and not the position of the Kulanu party.

Kahlon wrote he had “deep and sincere appreciation for President Obama’s efforts to stand by Israel and defend its interests.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Shapiro told Army Radio, “[Oren] is my friend, but I don’t agree with what he wrote. He is in a different role now. He is a politician and an author who wants to sell books. Sometimes an ambassador has a limited view of private conversations between leaders, and his description doesn’t represent the truth. His version is imaginary.”

Shapiro described the relationship between Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “effective, close and the kind that serves the interests of both countries.”

Also on Wednesday, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Oren’s account of his four-year stint in Washington, which ended in 2013, was “absolutely inaccurate and false, and doesn’t reflect what actually happened.”

Oren’s new book, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide, is set to be published next week. On Tuesday, Oren told Israel Hayom, “Obama came and changed the US government’s approach to Iran and the Palestinians without informing or consulting Israel.”

In the Wall Street Journal op-ed, Oren said Obama violated the “two core principles of Israel’s alliance with America,” which, according to Oren, are “no daylight” and “no surprises.”

Referring to disputes between Obama and Netanyahu, Oren wrote, “Neither leader monopolized mistakes, [but] only one leader [Obama] made them deliberately.”

By Shlomo Cesana/Israel Hayom