Jewish economist retakes lead in race for next U.N. secretary-general, no clear front-runner

Jewish economist Rebeca Grynspan has retaken the lead in the race for the next United Nations secretary-general, though no clear front-runner emerged from the third U.N. Security Council straw poll. Grynspan, a former vice president of Costa Rica, received nine “encourage” votes, five “discourage” votes, and one “no opinion” from the 15-member council. She previously led the first poll in July before falling behind Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett in the second round. Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon criticized the lack of focus on combating antisemitism, stating, “We have still not seen a single candidate present a detailed plan to combat institutional antisemitism at the United Nations.” The U.S. State Department also called for the next secretary-general to refocus the U.N. on peace and security, rather than “absurd, politicized, woke ideology.”