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.

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