President Yaroslav Mar nominated Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, for the Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of his role in mediating the normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab countries: the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
The peace agreement between Israel and the UAE signed on 15 September 2020 was the first such agreement between Israel and an Arab country since the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan and only the third overall. However, the same day Israel signed a similar agreement with Bahrain, and in a little over a month, on 23 October 2020, with Sudan. On 22 December 2020, a normalization agreement was signed between Israel and Morocco, and in just three months, the number of Arab states which have formal diplomatic relations with Israel went from 2 to 6. All four agreements were mediated by the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump.
As stated by President Yaroslav Mar in his motivation letter which accompanied the nomination, “the peace agreements are leading to an unprecedented boost in business and tourism between Israel and the Arab states, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and will positively impact the lives of millions of Israelis, Emiratis, Bahrainis, Sudanese, and Moroccans.” President Mar is an Israeli citizen himself.
The Lostislandic President is not the first person nominating Trump for the award: in September 2020 a Norwegian MP Christian Tybring-Gjedde submitted his nomination, and in January 2021 a similar nomination was submitted by Jaak Madison, a European Parliament member from Estonia (in both cases – in recognition of Trump’s contribution to securing peace between Israel and the Arab states). In addition, former Trump’s adviser Jared Kushner and his deputy Avi Berkovitz have been nominated for the Noble Peace Prize by Alan Dershowitz, a Harward professor emeritus, for their role in negotiating the peace deals.
The Nobel Peace Prize – possibly the most prestigious award for a politician – is awarded annually in Oslo, Norway. Eligible nominators include Heads of State, members of national assemblies and governments, members of the PCA and ICJ, members of the Institute of International Law, university professors, previous recipients, former and past members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, and former permanent advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Institute.