A HIGHER CALIBER BODYGUARD BUSINESS USES ISRAELI MILITARY'S AURA TO ATTRACT TOP CLIENTS.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

BEVERLY HILLS - Bred in the glitter of Hollywood, but seasoned in Tel Aviv, Aaron Cohen has held just two jobs in his 25 years: anti-terrorist commando for the Israeli Defense Force and bodyguard to the stars.

With his recently launched firm, Israeli Military Specialists, he hopes to pitch these unusual backgrounds to Los Angeles' elite, offering them full coverage both at home and on the red carpet. And in spite of his intriguing history, he has no tales of whisking away starlets in armored limos, guns raised against crazed would-be assassins.

But that's the point, he says, and he hopes never to have such problems to talk about.

``That's the trick to Israeli security,'' Cohen says, pacing the gym at the Meridian Club. ``There are no problems, because we train for every possible situation. Where we're from, terror is an everyday situation, so we're ready for it.''

Oh, and the time he spent in the IDF? Classified, and he'd rather not talk about it, so no juicy tales from that, either. But the experience offered by him and his staff, exclusively picked from top Israeli units, speaks for itself. Even in their informal training, performed with prop guns and basketballs as supposed targets, his guards belie a tough, focused demeanor that's not picked up fooling around in an after-school karate class.

Cohen himself boasts an unusual story, like something from the movies of the clients he protects. A 1995 graduate of Beverly Hills High School, he immigrated to Israel and volunteered for military service - seeking, he says, to give back to his spiritual homeland the best he could. After three years working undercover, he returned home to Los Angeles to break into the security business.

Watching Cohen and his team drill is an unusual experience - though there's clearly no danger in the mirrored room, and the guns could shoot an eye out at best, they are unflinchingly serious. When Cohen calls for an exercise in removing a client, played by him, from an armed situation, they throw him to the ground, hard, draw like lightning and withdraw in seconds.

Dedi, a new recruit who calls the San Fernando Valley his home and declines to offer his last name for ``security reasons,'' calls out in Hebrew, asking about the supposed attacker, played by an nonthreatening basketball. His partner, Doron Maman of North Hollywood, playing the team lead, has already taken care of things, however.

``Don't worry, Dedi,'' he says, English polished beneath a thick Israeli accent, staring down the sights of his pistol. ``He's already dead.''

It's surreal, in a way, but they're unquestionably driven, even in mild experience like this. Cohen picks himself up from the floor, finds and replaces his black spectacles, and explains.

``If we've drawn our guns, it's the absolute worst-case scenario,'' he says. ``Only if one of my guards or the client is in fear of their life ... it's not like we're just going to pull out and kill people.''

This discipline, which Cohen says makes his guards willing to die for their clients, has won him big clients in the past. Working with high-profile celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan and Elizabeth Taylor in his previous gig as a guard, Cohen hopes to continue this relationship with the glitterati. With prices upward of $10,000 for a two-day consultation, he said, only they will be able to afford his unique service.

According to Hal Kassarjian, a professor of marketing at California State University, Northridge, Cohen's concept of pitching an all-Israeli guard to the super-privileged is novel, and potentially lucrative.

``If it's a pro-Israeli audience, one who admires the way they do things, it's eye-catching and could be effective,'' Kassarjian said. ``I can't imagine it would be good for everyone, though. But if the market who likes them is large enough, which it could be, they could stand to make a lot of money off of this.''

That's what Cohen hopes, certainly. If he can prove himself, winning jobs and keeping his celebrity clients out of peril, he'll succeed. And he still won't have any good stories to tell.

``Whenever we're brought on to do a job, it's because we're experts,'' he said. ``I've never had a problem, because that's what we do. We anticipate the difficulties and make sure that nothing goes wrong.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Doron Maman of North Hollywood, center, and other members of the Israeli Military Specialists bodyguard team perform drills in formation.

(2 -- color) Israeli Military Specialists founder Aaron Cohen, left, trains a fellow veteran of the Israeli armed forces in the art of protecting Hollywood celebrities as a top-drawer bodyguard.

(3) Aaron Cohen, left, tries to destabilize one of his employees during a training exercise, no using real guns, for the Israeli Military Specialists security company Cohen founded.

(4) Israeli veteran Doron Maman protects boss Aaron Cohen, who is playing a bodyguard client during a simulated attack.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer