By, Simon Griver
1 min read
BySimon Griver, Simon Griver
When you're a globally famous reality TV star travelling the world with diamonds in your luggage and tweeting your movements to 48 million followers, you're a walking security puzzle that only the experts can solve.
Enter Aaron Cohen, the ex-Israeli commando who has been recruited by Kim Kardashian to beef up her personal security after she was tied up and robbed at gunpoint in an exclusive hotel in Paris earlier this month.
Following the attack, in which the gang stole jewellery worth up to 10 million euros (£9m), Ms Kardashian's rap-star husband Kanye West called in the Israeli counter-terrorism specialist.
Mr Cohen told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth: "A star of Kim's stature cannot go around with just one bodyguard.
"She is not protected well enough. There was a recent incident in which somebody tried to attack her and her bodyguard took him out. But who was protecting her when the bodyguard was busy with the assailant?"
The robbery in Paris took place when Ms Kardashian gave her sole bodyguard time off.
Mr Cohen said Ms Kardashian's high profile made her a natural target. "We're talking about a star who has more people following her on the social networks than the US presidential candidates."
He added: "People know where she is at any given moment, what jewellery she is wearing and if her security is lacking. It was almost as if she was asking to be robbed. After everything that happened, she is lucky to be alive."
However he could not confirm he had been approached to work for Ms Kardashian "because of the nature of my business".
Mr Cohen, 40, was born in Canada and grew up in Los Angeles. When he was 17 he immigrated to Israel and, after a spell on a kibbutz, he volunteered for the IDF - serving in the elite undercover Duvdevan anti-terror commando unit. He also worked for the Mossad.
After his service he returned to Los Angeles and set up IMS Security Consultants. In addition to protecting Hollywood VIPs including Brad Pitt and Arnold Schwarzenegger, IMS also trains US Swat teams and special military forces at its Cherries Counter-Terror School.
Protecting the stars is not the full extent of Mr Cohen's ambition, however. "I'd love to star in movies myself," he said. "But so far I've not succeeded in getting a major part."
Mr Cohen co-authored the bestselling memoir, Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in one of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Units.
