Israel’s former ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, issued a rebuke on his Facebook page on Saturday of President Barack Obama’s comments saying that Israel’s democracy could erode, The Times of Israel reported on Sunday.

The American-born Oren, who was elected Tuesday to the Knesset with the Kulanu party, called the president’s comments “damaging” and challenged the two leaders to rehabilitate bilateral ties.

“The president’s statement made yesterday about the deterioration of democracy in Israel strategically damages Israel’s standing in the world,” Oren said in a statement released on social media.

“The democratic values that Israel and the United States share are the very backbone of the relationship between both countries and consequently Obama’s words carry a heavy strategic price,” he continued, adding that Israel should continue to strive for liberal values — not because of Obama’s criticism, but because it was the correct thing to do.

Oren added on Facebook that “Israel, as the only stable democracy in the Middle East, is one of the few countries in the world that has never known a day of non-democratic rule. It is the only country in the Middle East in which every citizen has the right to vote, even for political parties who do not recognize Israel’s right to exist.”

[Photo: IsraelinUSA / Flickr ]