Nobel Prize winner urged to renounce Israel, far-right support

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has condemned the Nobel committee’s decision to award Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado the Peace Prize, accusing her of endorsing European fascism and Israel’s far-right politics.

The group described the decision as "insulting and unacceptable" and undermining the moral credibility of the Nobel Prize.

"The Nobel Peace Prize should go to individuals who have shown moral consistency by bravely advocating justice for all people, not to politicians who demand democracy in their own nation while supporting racism, bigotry, and fascism abroad," the group said in a statement.

'An affront to victims of genocide'

Machado, a leading Venezuelan opposition figure, was announced on Friday as the winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for what the committee described as her "steadfast commitment to democracy and human rights".

But CAIR said her record and associations "represent the opposite of those values".

The organisation urged her to "apologise for and renounce" her past remarks and affiliations, including her participation in the Patriots of Europe conference in Madrid earlier this year, a gathering of far-right politicians including Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orbán.

At the event, several speakers called for a "new Reconquista", referring to the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain in the 15th century.

Reuters reported that Machado’s pre-recorded video address opened the conference, in which she praised Europe’s “defenders of liberty and sovereignty”.

"We call on Ms. Machado to renounce her support for the Likud Party and anti-Muslim fascism in Europe," CAIR said.

"If she refuses, the Nobel committee should reconsider its decision, which has undermined its own reputation. An anti-Muslim bigot and supporter of European fascism has no place being mentioned alongside the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other worthy Nobel laureates."

Links to Israel's far-right

Machado has also expressed strong support for Israel’s government. In 2020, her political party signed a cooperation agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party. She later declared that "the struggle of Venezuela is the struggle of Israel" and vowed to move Venezuela’s embassy to Jerusalem if elected.

CAIR said such positions were "an affront to those who have risked their lives opposing racism, fascism and the ongoing genocide in Gaza".

The group urged the Nobel committee to instead honour "students, journalists, activists, or medical professionals who have risked their lives to oppose war crimes and injustice".

CAIR also warned that recognising Machado "dishonours the legacy of the Nobel Peace Prize" and ignores the suffering of victims of oppression around the world.

"The committee has chosen to reward a politician whose record contradicts the spirit of peace, justice, and equality that the prize is meant to represent," the organisation said.

Machado has not yet responded to CAIR’s statement.