- The author is the deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

ISTANBUL 

Of all the awards that the Nobel Committee hands out every year, the Nobel Peace Prize has long been the most prominent. From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to South African President Nelson Mandela, the Nobel Peace Prize has often highlighted monumental figures of history who peacefully advanced causes of justice while overcoming remarkable challenges.

Yet this year, the Nobel Committee's decision to honor Venezuelan politician Maria Corina Machado has betrayed the values that once defined the award. Far from embodying the legacy of Dr. King or Mandela, Ms. Machado has consistently aligned herself with movements and leaders that promote war, xenophobia, and bigotry.

Earlier this year, she addressed the Patriots of Europe, a far-right gathering of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant fascists. Speakers included Dutch politician Geert Wilders and French far-right leader Marine Le Pen. As Reuters reported, "All the speakers railed against immigration and most called for a new ‘Reconquista,’ a reference to the medieval re-conquest of Muslim-controlled parts of the Iberian Peninsula by Christian kingdoms." The rally, Reuters added, was opened by a video message from none other than Machado.

Ally of Israel’s ruling Likud Party

Her address to the Patriots of Europe was not a one-time dalliance with racists and fascists. Her party, Vente Venezuela, entered into a formal alliance in 2020 with Israel's ruling Likud Party, a partnership she personally signed and that remains in effect today. Likud is a far-right, openly racist, and genocidal political party that has spent decades leading the fight to perpetuate occupation, apartheid, and mass violence against Palestinians – policies now under investigation by the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

Machado has praised Israel’s government, declared that "the struggle of Venezuela is the struggle of Israel," and pledged to move Venezuela's Embassy to Jerusalem despite Israel's ongoing illegal occupation of the entire city.

Although the Nobel Committee claims that Ms. Machado peacefully supports democracy in Venezuela, she has called for foreign military intervention to topple the Maduro government and even expressed support for bombing unidentified individuals in boats off the country's coast.

By choosing Machado, the Nobel Committee has sent a dangerous message – that moral inconsistency, extremism, and alignment with fascist movements can be overlooked whenever a politician opposes a Western adversary. The decision not only diminishes the credibility of the Nobel Peace Prize but risks turning it into a symbol of Western hypocrisy rather than global justice.

What the Peace Prize should reward

The Nobel Peace Prize should go to a person who has shown moral consistency by peacefully pursuing justice for all people, not to a politician who claims to support democracy in her own nation while supporting war, fascism, xenophobia, and anti-Muslim bigotry abroad.

If Machado wishes to prove she is worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, she should immediately renounce her alliance with the Likud Party, apologize for addressing the Patriots of Europe conference and renounce anti-Muslim fascism, and retract her support for violence as a means of securing political change. If she refuses to take these steps, the Nobel Committee should do the honorable thing: rescind the award and select a laureate whose life’s work truly reflects peace and justice – one of the countless activists, journalists, healthcare workers, or human rights defenders who have peacefully pursued justice for all.

The Nobel Peace Prize made a mistake this year. There is still time to correct it.

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Anadolu's editorial policy.