Speaking in Hebrew Wednesday, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the anonymous chickenshit slur hurled against him by a senior White House official.

Citing deep ties with the United States, he told the Israeli parliament gathered for the memorial of an assassinated Israeli official how he would not make concessions that could endanger the Jewish state.

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He said, he is being personally attacked for vigorously defending Israel's security and national interests, but such attacks -- and all others before it -- will not prevent him from standing by his country.

"Our supreme interests, chiefly the security and unity of Jerusalem," he said, "are not the main concern of those anonymous officials who attack us and me personally, as the assault on me comes only because I defend the State of Israel."

The defamatory slur was cited Tuesday in Jeffrey Goldberg's column in The Atlantic.

Goldberg is a Washington insider who had interviewed President Barack Obama and Netanyahu and who, as he noted in his piece, has been keeping a running list of all incisive remarks White House officials have used to characterize the Jewish prime minister. Among them, "Aspergery," "obtuse," "recalcitrant," "reactionary" and most recently "chickenshit" and "coward."

What may seem like a childish mockery from senior Obama administration officials underlines a far serious trouble brewing behind closed doors, which was demonstrated by an unnamed senior Israeli official who suggested a reason for the personal attack.

According to The New York Times, the bruising remarks appear to "pre-empt" Netanyahu's likely criticism of the results of the Iran nuclear deal slated for finalization by Nov. 24.

The unnamed official added that this is an apparent attempt at discrediting Netanyahu, instead of giving credit to the substance of his possible criticism.

Former Israeli national security adviser, Giora Eiland, echoed the same view, saying the chickenshit reference is a deliberate attempt to slander Netanyahu ahead of the nuclear deal.

Much of Netanyahu's career has been spent on crippling Iran's nuclear capability. He has long insisted of Iran's plan to develop war-grade nuclear armaments intended to be used against the Jewish nation.

The sour relationship between Obama and Netanyahu is not a secret and there is truly nothing new about the name-calling. Neither is there anything new about White House's condemnation of Israel's policies. But with Iran's nuclear program at stake, the profanity may not have come at a worse time.

Tagspolitics, Iran, Israeli Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, slur