RESPONSE TO BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3 PRE-LICENSE

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000827 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC IS SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3 PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON LICENSE 050143937 REF: A. 07 TEL AVIV 225 ¶B. STATE 21769 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: While Mitvach Ha'ir, Ltd., continues to possess a chaotic filing system and questionable security practices, the subject purchase order with Lou's Police Distributors appears to be legitimate. That said, Mitvach Ha'ir manager Avi Rubin was unable to provide a DSP-83 for the license application. Polmiloff and Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) senior commercial specialist visited Mitvach Ha'ir, Ltd., on March 31. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Per reftels, polmiloff and senior commercial specialist met with Avi Rubin, owner of Mitvach Ha'ir, Ltd., on March 31. Mitvach Ha'ir is a weapon and ammunition store located in the basement of an office building two floors down from street-level in Netanya, approximately 20 minutes north of Tel Aviv. In addition to selling guns to the general public, Mitvach Ha'ir also has a shooting range on-site, where emboffs observed several Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers in uniform training. ¶3. (SBU) According to Rubin, he has been "doing business" with Lou's Police Distributors for approximately eight years, purchasing for re-sale items such as flashlights, boots, and gun holsters. Rubin said he had also ordered Remington shotguns and spare parts for Glock pistols from Lou's Police Distributors in the past. Rubin said he ordered these Glock semi-automatic pistols from Lou's Police Distributors for several reasons. First, Glock will not export directly to Israel, even though there is a Glock representative located in-country. For that reason, Rubin said he must order through a third country. Second, Rubin said the Glocks he ordered from Lou's Police Distributors are "second hand," and therefore much cheaper. Finally, he explained that the M-26 model of the Glock semi-automatic pistol is very popular in Israel -- as many purchasers prefer the small size to conceal in ankle holsters -- and Lou's Police Distributors have a number of these M-26s. Rubin said he intended to re-sell the Glocks from Lou's Police Distributors to the Israeli public. ¶4. (SBU) Emboffs asked Rubin to provide documentation to establish the bona fides of the transaction with Lou's Police Distributors. Following ten minutes of rifling through stacks of paper on his desk, Rubin requested his brother Didi to bring a three-ring binder from a separate location with the appropriate paperwork. Rubin was then able to provide the purchase order and import license letter. When asked about the DSP-83, Rubin became confused. Initially, he said he signed the DSP-83 during a business trip to the United States, but did not possess a copy of the form. Later, he explained that a DSP-83 was not necessary, as these Glocks were intended for the "civilian market," and not the Israeli military. However, Rubin was keen to demonstrate that he indeed possessed DSP-83s for other purchase orders, and proceeded to look through the accumulated paper on his desk for another 15 minutes, ultimately failing to provide a single DSP-83 for any purchase order. He explained that he has a second office located at his home; the DSP-83s "must be" at his second office. ¶5. (SBU) Emboffs asked Rubin to demonstrate his facility's security features. Rubin gave a tour of his large walk-in vault where he stored weapons, ammunition and equipment for sale. Rubin claimed the items in the vault were inventoried, but emboffs could not discern any system to the large number of weapons lying about the store room, including a bazooka and an antique Thompson submachine gun, which Rubin estimated at USD 25,000. Emboffs observed guns and ammunition under locked counters in the reception area and waiting area for the shooting range. However, in the safe and Rubin's office, emboffs observed a number of guns and other weapons lying unsecured on desk and table tops. The facility does possess a closed-circuit video surveillance system. ¶6. (SBU) Despite his disorganized filing system and questionable security practices, Rubin was nevertheless concerned that "all was in order" regarding his purchase order. He asked why he specifically had been singled out -- "not that it was a problem," he added. Rubin remained curious why many of his arms merchant colleagues do not face the similar scrutiny he has experienced. He also briefly mentioned the training Mitvach Ha'ir, Ltd., provides for African special forces. He declined to go into specifics, but stressed that the Glocks from the purchase order would not be used during this training. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv ********************************************* ******************** CUNNINGHAM