Aaron Cohen (actor)

Aaron Cohen (born 28 February 1976) is a former Israeli Special Forces operative, California -based counterterrorism consultant and managing director of IMS Security. Cohen was born in Montreal , Canada , and educated at Beverly Hills High School as well as Robert Land Academy in Ontario , Canada. After high school, Cohen left Los Angeles for Israel, working on a kibbutz before enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces . After a grueling tryout process known as a “gibush,” Cohen was one of the few non- Sabra volunteers accepted into the elite ranks of the Israeli Special Forces. In the mid-1990s, he became a member of the secretive undercover Sayaret (commando) unit known as Duvdevan , ( ; lit. cherry ) a counter-terrorist unit which runs missions targeting wanted terrorist suspects in the occupied territories of the West Bank, often while dressed as Palestinian Arabs. After his three-year service, Cohen returned to Los Angeles and launched IMS Security Consultants, Inc., a leading Hollywood VIP protection service which has done security work for Hollywood actors, rock stars and dignitaries. IMS has also been a leading tactical training firm in offering Israeli-style counterterrorist and “active shooter” training to members of local, State and Federal law enforcement, SWAT teams and the U.S. military. As a terrorism expert , discussing matters such as the Virginia Tech gunman massacre, Cohen has appeared live on many news programs, including CNN , Fox News and Court TV . Aaron Cohen’s first book, Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in one of the World’s Most Elite Counterterrorism Units, coauthored with journalist and best-selling author Douglas Century was published by Ecco / HarperCollins in April 2008. Cohen was recently portrayed on the HBO series Entourage. [1] He is the stepson of American filmmaker Abby Mann .¹