One well-known claim, among the many claims made by those who despise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is that he’s a coward. Various and sundry high-ranking officials in various and sundry military organizations have told various and sundry journalists over the years that Netanyahu is a man gripped by anxiety, who gets weak in the knees when he has to approve some special operation. Other senior figures in other organizations have told the same journalists that Netanyahu is so easily spooked that any hostile news story on some obscure website and any threat by some junior deputy minister can throw him off kilter.

Israel’s prime minister has repeatedly been portrayed as hysterical, the antithesis of cool-headed and daring. It’s possible that there’s a grain of truth to some of these claims. But when it comes to the relationship between Israel and the United States, Netanyahu’s problem is not excessive cowardice but rather extreme courage, to the point of dangerousness.

Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was a rock. But when the time came for him to tangle with a U.S. president (John F. Kennedy) over Dimona, he resigned. Prime Minister Golda Meir was very strong, but despite being at her core a socialist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it never occurred to her to lock horns with the Republican president (Richard Nixon), who was hated by many of her Democratic friends and associates. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was one of Israel’s boldest warriors, but he was cautious, calculated and full of awe in his dealings with the U.S. president (George W. Bush).

In contrast to all of these predecessors, Netanyahu acts like Samson with respect to Barack Obama. He instigates rebellion among members of Obama’s own party, undermines the president in his own capital and incites his wrath on a daily basis. Netanyahu is taking upon himself — upon all of us — risks that few reasonable people would even consider taking. Netanyahu, in stark contrast to his image, has been demonstrating the breathtaking boldness of an unbridled, ruthless gambler.

Here is the new strategic landscape: The nuclear deal with Iran is reasonable for the short term, problematic in the long term and dangerous in terms of its regional ramifications. But it’s a done deal. That’s why Israeli policy ought to be focusing on negotiating with the Obama administration so that important steps can be taken to mitigate the inherent risks of the agreement and to increase the likelihood of its success.

But instead of talking to the administration, Netanyahu is clashing with it. Instead of working to ensure intelligence cooperation, defense aid and strategic intimacy in the future, Netanyahu is playing the macho man. He is convinced that Obama will give Israel everything it wants, even after its prime minister repeatedly punches him in the face. Netanyahu is looking toward 2016 and assuming that the next president will be a fervent Zionist.

Because of American domestic considerations, Netanyahu’s gamble might work. But it might not. What will happen if it turns out that Netanyahu bungee-jumped into the abyss without tying the rope to the bridge he jumped from?

Netanyahu is very good at power politics. He knows, better than many, that the behavior of statesmen is the result of the complex pressures and constraints under which they operate. But Netanyahu is very weak in the politics of values, dialogue and goodwill. And in American-Israeli relations, shared values, respectful dialogue and goodwill are of enormous importance.

Before he makes an irreversible mistake, it would behoove Netanyahu to apply in the diplomatic realm a little of the welcome caution he exhibits in the military realm. It’s not too late. We can still reach understandings with Obama, change course and avoid colliding with the iceberg.