Radical Left Threatens Police 

There were major demonstrations again this weekend in cities across the country protesting police brutality and racism. In Washington, D.C., thousands marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in a protest organized by Al Sharpton, featuring family members of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others who died in altercations with police. 

The vast majority of marchers in most cities were peaceful. But a significant contingent of left-wing radicals once again hijacked the protests to push for an extreme agenda. 

There is video of marchers in New York chanting: "What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!" 

One large banner that took at least half a dozen people to hold read: "Real Thugs Wear Flag Pins." Get it? If you are patriotic, you are part of the problem according to these anarchists.

In Oakland, California, the march that was supposed to promote peace and justice devolved into violence as an American flag was burned, stores were looted and dozens were arrested for vandalism. 

A march across the Brooklyn Bridge nearly turned into a riot when demonstrators started throwing projectiles from the upper level onto police below. When two police lieutenants went to arrest a man (later identified as Eric Linsker) who was attempting to throw a trash can down onto cops, they were attacked by a mob. One officer suffered a broken nose. 

Ironically, the two lieutenants were members of the NYPD's Legal Bureau, who, according to the New York Post, were "specifically assigned to the anti-cop protest to make sure the demonstrators' civil rights weren't violated." The relationship between extreme left New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD is so bad that the police union has launched a campaign to ban the mayor from police funerals.

Linsker initially fled, but the police were able to track him down after he dropped his backpack at the scene. Inside were three hammers, marijuana and a black ski mask. This thug is a Harvard graduate and college English professor. When he's not indoctrinating young students or throwing trash cans from bridges, Linsker spends his time writing poetry with lines like "F--k the police." 

Lest you think I'm being overly critical and drawing attention only to the few bad apples, consider what Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick had to say about protests in Boston. Governor Patrick was asked on CNN about the goal of the marches and he said it was a "great question." 

He added that state officials had tried to contact the march organizers in advance in order to "accommodate the protests," but they never responded. Gov. Patrick said, "They weren't interested in engagement because part of the point was to be disruptive." 

That's very telling. The governor isn't talking about a few lone protestors, but the protest organizers. If a liberal Massachusetts Democrat is implying that these protests are not necessarily motivated by legitimate justice issues, perhaps more people should be questioning their motivation. There is growing evidence that the radical Occupy Wall Street crowd is attempting to hijack this movement. 

Jihad In Sydney 

Sydney, Australia, is the latest target of jihadist terrorism. Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee with a lengthy and violent criminal history, entered the Lindt cafe in downtown Sydney during morning rush hour and took at least a dozen hostages. 

Monis forced some of the hostages to hold up the black flag of jihad. The crisis ended 16 hours later when a SWAT team stormed the cafe and killed Monis. Two others are reportedly dead. 

Australia has been a key U.S. ally in the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and it has paid a heavy toll for standing with us. In 2002, bombs destroyed two night clubs popular with foreign tourists in Bali, Indonesia, killing 88 Australians. 

This year, Prime Minister Tony Abbott committed Australian troops to the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. In September, hundreds of Australian law enforcement officers carried out raids in several major cities. More than a dozen jihadist sympathizers were arrested for plotting random beheadings in the streets. 

As we learned on 9/11, radical Islam is not just Israel's problem. The desire of jihadists to kill the infidel is not restricted to the Middle East. This enemy cannot be negotiated with and political correctness will not appease it. The nations of the civilized world must find the courage to defeat these modern day barbarians. 

Will Obama Abandon Israel? 

Relations between the United States and Israel are at their lowest point in decades. The latest evidence of the growing rift between Washington and Jerusalem comes amid a new push by Jordan and France for U.N. recognition of "Palestine" based on Israel's pre-1967 borders. 

Three years ago, President Obama made it clear that the United States would veto a Security Council resolution recognizing demands for Palestinian statehood that undermined Israel's security. But according to Reuters, "a senior U.S. official said it was too early to say" whether the U.S. would veto this latest proposal. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is meeting with Secretary of State Kerry and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi today, was unequivocal. Netanyahu said: 
 

"I will tell [Kerry and Renzi] that Israel stands, to a great extent, as a solitary island against the waves of Islamic extremism washing over the entire Middle East. This will bring the radical Islamic elements to the suburbs of Tel Aviv and to the heart of Jerusalem. We will not allow this."