Trump’s Bombs, Netanyahu Nominates Him For Nobel Peace Prize - Gandhi Still Ignored

New Delhi: The Nobel Peace Prize has never shied away from controversy. But a nomination made in June has once again stretched the limits of irony.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently nominated U.S. President Donald Trump for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. “He is working to bring peace across regions and countries,” Netanyahu wrote in a letter submitted to the Nobel Committee and later handed to Trump.

The announcement came just days after Trump ordered a string of precision strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities – a military operation hailed by Washington as “preventive action” and condemned by Tehran as “state-sponsored terror”.

At the same time, Trump continues to back Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and maintain military support for Ukraine’s resistance against Russia – moves that have drawn international concerns.

The idea of a peace prize going to the man who bombed Iranian nuclear sites, who is aiding the Gaza campaign and who vowed to “crush enemies” may seem contradictory. But Trump has never hidden his ambition. During his presidency, he publicly spoke of his belief that his diplomacy with North Korea and Serbia-Kosovo deserved recognition. Now, a close ally has reignited that dream.

Netanyahu’s gesture may also be strategic. Israel’s leader faces growing scrutiny over Gaza and diplomatic isolation. Endorsing Trump, who remains a popular figure in parts of Israel and among U.S. evangelicals, could help Netanyahu reinforce his own legitimacy amid rising war fatigue at home.

Interestingly, Netanyahu’s move was not the only one. Earlier this year, Pakistan had also expressed interest in nominating Trump, crediting him for helping avert a larger war with India. That plan faded after Trump’s strikes on Iran triggered a firestorm of criticism.

Meanwhile, history casts a long shadow.

Mahatma Gandhi – a global symbol of nonviolence – was nominated five times for the Nobel Peace Prize. He never received it. The Nobel Committee later admitted this was among its “greatest omissions”.

Trump, by contrast, may now join a list of highly polarising winners, including Barack Obama (2009), Henry Kissinger (1973), Yasser Arafat (1994), Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), Abiy Ahmed (2019) and Wangari Maathai (2004). Each had their moment of glory followed by years of controversy, war, scandal or brutal reversals.

Critics have often asked whether the Nobel Peace Prize is a recognition of intent or outcome. In Trump’s case, that question may define the entire debate. His defenders point to the Abraham Accords and temporary ceasefires he brokered. His detractors cite his bombings, threats of war and personal style of diplomacy.

As the Nobel Committee weighs nominations, the contrast with Gandhi remains poignant.

One man led a nation to independence with no army. Another calls himself a “warrior president” and boasts of rebuilding the Pentagon’s missile stockpile. One never held power. The other holding the nuclear codes.

And yet only one, the latter, has been officially nominated.