(JTA) — More than 1,000 police officers will secure the Israel Day Parade in New York City.
The annual event will make its way up Fifth Avenue on Sunday.
No specific threats have been made against the parade, which celebrates Israel’s statehood.
The police officers stationed along the route will include counterterror teams armed with assault rifles, the New York Daily News reported.
The personnel also will include radiation-detection teams, sharpshooters and bomb squads, the New York Post reported, citing NYPD counterterrorism chief John Miller.
Garbage trucks filled with sand will block streets to prevent car-ramming attacks.
Miller also told reporters that the stepped-up security is due to current world events, including dozens of terror attacks in Israel and the Middle East over the last year.
“We urge people if you see something say something. If you observe suspicious activity, before you tweet it or videotape it, call 911,” Miller said.
Israel’s Consul General in New York Dani Dayan and Culture Minister Miri Regev are scheduled to participate in the parade.
Later on Sunday, Times Square will be lit blue and white as a four-minute video promoting Israeli innovation and celebrating its relationship with America is broadcast on screens throughout the site.
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