I would like to offer a brief comment on the background of this translation. On November 16, 2023, a post appeared on Instagram (LINK) showing portions of a video talk in Hebrew, with English subtitles, addressed to Israeli soldiers by Zen Teacher Nissim Amon, the content of which talk has been criticized as, for example, giving "advice for soldiers on how to shoot Palestinians calmly and mercilessly" (LINK) and similar reactions and criticisms. I offered to contact Nissim, as he is a fellow successor to Nishijima Gudo Wafu Roshi and someone with whom I have had significant contact over the years, I was also concerned about the content, and I felt that Nissim should be given a chance to respond. I wrote to him:
Dear Nissim,
I hope this finds you well.
I have not found it possible to translate your videos yet ...
https://nissimamon.com/together/
... but some people are raising them as advocating that soldiers should kill civilians and children in Gaza. Is that true, is that what you are advocating? I would like to hear your opinion.
Peace to you.
I believe that all civilians and children have a right to live in peace, free of violence. All deserve food, water, medicine and a safe place to live. All deserve a land to call home.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Gassho, Jundo
Nissim wrote me back almost immediately, stating:
Dear and Ven. Jundo,
I never said those things, nor do I think so.
Someone deliberately faked the translation.
I think exactly like you,
To kill civilians and children in Gaza? I would never say anything like that. It is terrible and un-Buddhist.
Some Pro terror group did that, in peruse, to fake bad things against us.
I support giving a state to the Palestinians, not killing them.
Mara is attacking me too.
Yours,
Nissim.
As I do not speak Hebrew, I asked a bilingual Israeli Buddhist friend whom I trust to provide a translation of two videos on Nissim's own personal website (LINK) in Hebrew only, one of which appeared to be the original version of the video which was posted on Instagram with English subtitles. The translator, a busy volunteer, took several days, and finally sent me his translation of that video (but, because of his schedule, not the additional video I requested.) That translation is below.
If I may offer a personal impression: I believe that Nissim, a former Israeli soldier himself who has seen combat situations, made the video out of concern for the mental and bodily well-being of soldiers going into dangerous battle. The video was made at a time of great upset in Israel, following the terrible events of October 7th, in which most Israelis are caught up. However, nonetheless, I believe that Nissim goes way, way too far in the video, beyond what is tolerable or excusable in my eyes, in showing Israeli soldiers how to stay safe by, for example, more effectively shooting and throwing grenades. He speaks as a former soldier, talking to other soldiers, on how to engage in combat without being killed. It is worth emphasizing that he never once says anything against the Palestinian people in general, nor even about Hamas members specifically, nor about any person targeted by the soldiers. The entire focus seems to be on the soldiers keeping themselves safe, and does not give thought to the targets of combat.
However, even though I believe that Nissim's intent was to keep his fellow soldiers safe, I find the overlooking of the Gazans on the receiving end of the shooting and bomb throwing, especially civilians and children who are not Hamas terrorists, very troubling, very painful and inexcusable. I would like to believe that Nissim did not think through what he was saying, meaning to help the soldiers, while just not processing in his own mind the ramifications to the innocent people and children who would be injured or killed. I think he just was not focused on them. He should have been. I would like to believe that Nissim was picturing in his mind that the targets were all the Hamas terrorists who need to be stopped, not remembering the civilians including children. At best, he was naive and negligent to be thinking that. Arguably, some of his instructions for calm shooting without spraying bullets wildly are meant to minimize unintended harm, but he does not say that clearly enough if that was one intent, and he just does not seem to be paying attention at all to the effect on the recipients of the shooting and other violence.
Nissim's suggestion to me that the translation in the English subtitles on Instagram were "faked" appears not true overall, although there is significant question and doubt about how certain statements (such as the purported very last sentence "be cool, without mercy, without compassion") were phrased. For that reason, the translator I commissioned states that in his translation, "I have tried to translate it as literally as possible while still retaining the meaning behind the words. which is much more difficult to do than to just translate the meaning and rearrange it to convey the idea behind it. I chose to do it that way since it would be as true to the original wording as possible. It is such a sensitive subject that I didn't want anyone to be able to accuse us of twisting the words to change the message. The last sentence is what shows up written in Hebrew above him at the video's end. it is not spoken."
The last sentence refers to the final line of the English subtitles (found near the end of the original video), "In the battle, while you are there, be cool, without compassion, without mercy" which the translator believes to be a negligent or intentional mistranslation, and is not what Nissim says there. As the translator expressed to me: "What he actually says is be cool, without self pity or feeling sorry for yourself ... literally to have no compassion for yourself." In other words, Nissim was not saying to have no compassion or mercy directed toward victims, and was focused only on the mental health of the soldiers and their own self-pity and personal sorrow while in combat.
Finally, I believe Nissim when he says, as he wrote me, "To kill civilians and children in Gaza? I would never say anything like that. It is terrible and un-Buddhist. ... I support giving a state to the Palestinians, not killing them." I believe that it is possible for a Buddhist teacher to abhor war itself, but recognize that a certain war is inevitable, thus to express "support for the troops" and their physical safety and mental health when going into battle. To do so is not to be a rabid nationalist or pro-war jingoist (something that Brian Victoria, in his "Zen At War" writings, is very often criticized for by scholars in his intentional muddling of those very different types of people and frequent misstatement of the attitudes of many Japanese Buddhists before and during WWII.) I believe that that is what Nissim may have thought that he was doing: supporting the troops in an abhorrent but unavoidable and justifiable war against Hamas after the attack and slaughter of Israelis on October 7th. However, by going to the extremes of explaining to soldiers about how, for example, to throw grenades in order to protect themselves from grenades which are then thrown back, Nissim has stepped far over the line. I don't think that he wishes to kill innocent children and other civilians, but he seems just to have forgotten about them in his concern for the well-being of the soldiers. That is wrong. I have communicated with him many times over the years, and I do not think that he is a violent or heartless man in any way, nor a lover of war as he is a former soldier who has seen first-hand its tragedy. I want to assume here that he is just someone who has gotten caught up in the fear and fever which swept Israel after October 7th, and that he foolishly forgot in his concern for fellow soldiers that there are often innocent victims on the receiving end of those bullets and bombs.
I personally believe that horrors do not justify horrors. Civilians and children, on all sides, have the right to be safe. War crimes are war crimes no matter who does the act.
Jundo Cohen
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TRANSLATION:
Being a super warrior, the difference between being a super warrior and being just a warrior is in the mind, after all everyone sleeps the same thing and plays backgammon the same and football (soccer) and eat the same. The difference is in the mind, in awareness.
I would like to work with you on three chapters like you work with sports players in championships. Before the competition, during the competition and after the competition.
Meaning for you it's before the fight, while you're waiting. This chapter is an opportunity for you to develop your own calming awareness this means you're calming yourself because there is an inner voice that worries, worried, stressing you, troubled and you have to tell yourself "everything will be fine" remind yourself to breath, see beautiful things, think positive thoughts.
And awaken and motivate your higher self with your own strength which is above the mind whose job is to be troubled.
So these are your preparation and do it yourself to practice your calming awareness.
The second chapter is during the fighting, during the battle and this is the instructions of the adult lions to the young lions, listen what is needed is keeping it cool and precision. And in practice it means, when you are firing taking that half a second to a second to aim and then fire and then release. And this is all the difference between super warriors and people who get scared and fire. And another 2 things, the worst is to fire in bursts, you don't hit and waste lots of ammo. Because the barrel has a little tube that returns the gas, some of the gas that comes out to return the firing mechanism back to eject the casing and bring a new bullet to the firing chamber. And this little tube pushes upward and the burst raises the weapon up and therefore firing in bursts is entirely unnecessary. So one this is to aim, hold our breath and shoot in single or pairs, bursts are not a good thing. And the third thing is, listen to an advice about grenades. Take into account that a grenade is thrown 30 meters. But if you throw a grenade 5 meters in to a room, it happens often that the grenade will bounce back at you, someone will throw it back, so you can throw it too. But what we would do is pop the pin wait a second or 2 and then throw the grenade in to the room so they won't have time to return it. Always remember in an urban area when throwing a grenade they will throw it back to you. So coolness, precision that's your strength, that's success. Take a breath even when you're frightened even under fire, this precision. Remember in the past there were knights that would dual? The one who would win wasn't the fastest one like it was in the Wild West. Usually what would happen is that their hand would tremble from fear. And all the greatness is being, breathing, holding the breath, aiming and without fear being precise and shooting.
As for the third part, after the battle. Comeback, rest, say everything is alright. Not mull over guilt, not mull over regrets and not to agonize. But simply try to rest. There will be time later, when you return home, we will work. The work will be to unload, to speak about it and to share and cry. Cry a lot. But not during combat. In combat, and while you are in it be cool, no feeling sorry for yourself, no self-pity. Princes and princesses, you are ours, a national pride, super warriors. Take the time, precision, patience. And this is what will make you in to the most successful warriors. Do the work. Waiting for you to come home in safely.
Good luck to you. Everything will be fine.
To find the silence in the heart of the storm to be precise, clear devoid of fear and sharp as a diamond sword.
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THE ORIGINAL VIDEO on NISSIM AMON's YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x9Q5vikjmo
On Nissim Amon's personal web page: https://nissimamon.com/together/
Title of the video on Nissim's Web Page, as rendered by Google Translate:
To be precise, clear, fearless and sharp as a diamond sword