United Nations building in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit: Mathias Reding\/Pexels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cSo the problem with antisemitism, you cannot dilute it, and that\u2019s what they\u2019re trying to do at the U.N.,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Danon told JNS that under Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, the global body \u201chas become a hostile work environment for Israelis and Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the past, antisemitism at the U.N. was primarily reflected in the policies of individual member states,\u201d he said. \u201cToday, the organization itself has become a breeding ground for institutionalized antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marina Rosenberg, a former Israeli diplomat who is now senior vice president of international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, told JNS that she worked with Moratinos and his team on his plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe gave our input just like other Jewish communities, but to be honest, I have not seen any real progress on the ground and any impact at all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s true that it\u2019s a new program, but we are concerned that when you have a program, but you don\u2019t have the funds or the serious team that can implement it, or the partners to do it with, then what\u2019s the point of having a program in the first place?\u201d she told JNS.<\/p>\n
Rosenberg wants to be the next U.N. secretary-general to take the issue more seriously and ensure that there are resources in place for it.<\/p>\n
David Michaels, director of U.N. and intercommunal affairs at B\u2019nai B\u2019rith International, told JNS that \u201cwe continue to have concerns about practical U.N. engagement in efforts against antisemitism\u2014limited resources and direction, insufficient coordination with the Jewish community and its experts and serious internal political constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCommemorating the Holocaust isn\u2019t enough,\u201d Michaels said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s difficult to tackle antisemitism at the global body \u201cwithout a clear-eyed view of its dominant contemporary forms, and a basic definition of antisemitism that reflects these,\u201d he told JNS.<\/p>\n
The global body has declined to adopt the widely used International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance\u2019s working definition of Jew-hatred or any one standard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere can\u2019t be U.N. credibility in fighting anti-Jewish bias when there isn\u2019t readiness to address it within the U.N. system itself,\u201d Michaels told JNS. \u201cWe hope that the next U.N. secretary-general will display more leadership in modeling this, and that key Security Council members\u2014not only the U.S. but also Britain and France, whose Jewish populations have been besieged by antisemitism\u2014will make this a condition for approving any candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nihal Saad, director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, told JNS that Moratinos\u2019s office has \u201ctaken a first step toward implementing the United Nations Action Plan to Enhance Monitoring and Response to Antisemitism through the launch of an online learning module on understanding antisemitism and which is available to all UN staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also working on a few modifications in the module, elaborating a few segments,\u201d Saad said. \u201cThe objective is to strengthen awareness across the workplace and promote a culture of dignity, respect, inclusion and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
The office is also studying the \u201cmodalities and terms of reference of establishing a working group on antisemitism before the end of this year,\u201d Saad told JNS.<\/p>\n
The United Nations does not maintain employment statistics on the basis of religious identity. Of 1,065 staff within the U.N. secretariat at the end of 2021, there were 12 Israelis. That was below the \u201cdesirable range\u201d of 13 to 22 that the United Nations sets as a baseline according to a country\u2019s population and other factors.<\/p>\n
The 164 Israelis of 125,436 total U.N. employees in 2022 represented about 0.13% of the entire U.N. staff, which is about the same percentage that Israelis represent globally.<\/p>\n
Some have been heartened to see that U.N. executive Rebeca Grynspan, who is Jewish and a former Costa Rican vice president, has been leading the race for the next secretary-general. But questions about the viability of her candidacy remain.<\/p>\n
The Jewish U.N. staffer who works in development told JNS that she isn\u2019t enthralled.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s good, but she\u2019s also a politician at the end of the day,\u201d the staffer said. \u201cWe don\u2019t expect some kind of revolution thanks to Grynspan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grynspan has the \u201cguts\u201d and good relations with both the United States and Russia but won\u2019t do much to help Jews in the U.N. system, according to the U.N. staffer.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has never done anything good for Jews,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The staffer thinks that Grynspan kept her Jewish heritage under the radar until \u201cshe realized that the winds were turning\u201d with U.S. President Donald Trump returning to office. She \u201cbecame close\u201d to Daniel Meron, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, according to the staffer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore that, she was really keeping some distance, not to be accused of any kind of bias towards Israel,\u201d the staffer said. \u201cEven for Oct. 7, she did not send any message or anything to the ambassador.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grynspan was \u201creally ignoring her Jewish roots, and then she became a candidate, and she turned her origin into some kind of asset and marketing tool, so she\u2019s getting closer to the Jewish community,\u201d the staffer told JNS. \u201cBut if ever she is elected, I don\u2019t think that she will do any kind of change in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/United_Nations_flags-300x169.webp\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/UN-Security-Council-300x200.webp\")
![\"Share](\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\")