New Delhi: The Nobel Peace Prize has by no means shied away from controversy. However a nomination made in June has as soon as once more stretched the bounds of irony.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just lately nominated U.S. President Donald Trump for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. “He’s working to carry peace throughout areas and international locations,” Netanyahu wrote in a letter submitted to the Nobel Committee and later handed to Trump.
The announcement got here simply days after Trump ordered a string of precision strikes on Iranian nuclear amenities – a navy operation hailed by Washington as “preventive motion” and condemned by Tehran as “state-sponsored terror”.
On the identical time, Trump continues to again Israel’s navy marketing campaign in Gaza and keep navy help for Ukraine’s resistance in opposition to Russia – strikes which have drawn worldwide issues.
The thought of a peace prize going to the person who bombed Iranian nuclear websites, who’s aiding the Gaza marketing campaign and who vowed to “crush enemies” could seem contradictory. However Trump has by no means hidden his ambition. Throughout his presidency, he publicly spoke of his perception that his diplomacy with North Korea and Serbia-Kosovo deserved recognition. Now, an in depth ally has reignited that dream.
Netanyahu’s gesture may be strategic. Israel’s chief faces rising scrutiny over Gaza and diplomatic isolation. Endorsing Trump, who stays a preferred determine in components of Israel and amongst U.S. evangelicals, might assist Netanyahu reinforce his personal legitimacy amid rising battle fatigue at dwelling.
Apparently, Netanyahu’s transfer was not the one one. Earlier this yr, Pakistan had additionally expressed curiosity in nominating Trump, crediting him for serving to avert a bigger battle with India. That plan light after Trump’s strikes on Iran triggered a firestorm of criticism.
In the meantime, historical past casts a protracted shadow.
Mahatma Gandhi – a worldwide image of nonviolence – was nominated 5 instances for the Nobel Peace Prize. He by no means obtained it. The Nobel Committee later admitted this was amongst its “biggest omissions”.
Trump, in contrast, might now be part of a listing of extremely polarising winners, together with Barack Obama (2009), Henry Kissinger (1973), Yasser Arafat (1994), Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), Abiy Ahmed (2019) and Wangari Maathai (2004). Every had their second of glory adopted by years of controversy, battle, scandal or brutal reversals.
Critics have usually requested whether or not the Nobel Peace Prize is a recognition of intent or end result. In Trump’s case, that query might outline the whole debate. His defenders level to the Abraham Accords and non permanent ceasefires he brokered. His detractors cite his bombings, threats of battle and private fashion of diplomacy.
Because the Nobel Committee weighs nominations, the distinction with Gandhi stays poignant.
One man led a nation to independence with no military. One other calls himself a “warrior president” and boasts of rebuilding the Pentagon’s missile stockpile. One by no means held energy. The opposite holding the nuclear codes.
And but just one, the latter, has been formally nominated.