Who's the extremist again?

Yesterday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman invited Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi to visit Israel.

"Those who speak of peace and stability must realize that it cannot be a hypothetical peace," Lieberman said Tuesday during an Israel Bar Association conference.

"We certainly hope to see Morsi hosting official Israeli representatives soon; we want to see him giving interviews to Israeli media; we want to see him in Jerusalem as President (Shimon) Peres' guest," the FM told the conference.

Today, the Muslim Brotherhood said "hell, no!"

Dr. Gamal Heshmat, a member of the High Commission for Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, called Avigdor Lieberman,'s invitation diplomatic debauchery, saying: "This is immoral and it is impossible for President Morsi to visit the Zionist entity."

Heshmat told Al Ahram, "The call by Israel to President Marina is unacceptable and impossible to be met, and I expect the presidentto reject it."

In response to the difference between Morsi visiting "Israel" and visiting Iran, Heshmat said: "There a vast difference between the two; Iran is not a usurped land of an occupation authority; it is a sovereign state and [a visit] will not affect our relationship with all neighboring countries."

Now, since the Muslim Brotherhood gained success in the elections we have been treated to a stream of articles from analysts and so-called experts who let us know that the movement really isn't extreme, it is pragmatic and moderate and will act responsibly.

I don't believe there has ever been a single article in the mainstream media saying that Lieberman was anything other than an extremist.

But if you actually read the words said by either side without the spin created by the media and the supposed experts, things look much different.

The media has an emotional investment in demonizing Israel's right wing as "extremist," from Begin to Shamir, from Sharon to Netanyahu and to Lieberman. Their own words in context have never been nearly as extreme as they are portrayed.

Until you see articles that point out that Israel's "extremists" are advocating positions today to the left of Rabin during Oslo, you can be assured that the bias is still there.