Middle East

Is it conceivable to have now a Jewish General Secretary of the United Nations?

Who is Rebeca Grynspan, the Jewish frontrunner to lead the UN – and what is her Israel stance?

ByMATHILDA HELLER

Jewish former vice president of Costa Rica Rebeca Grynspan is leading the straw poll for the next UN secretary-general. If she successfully replaces Antonio Guterres when he finishes his term on December 31, she will become the first Jewish UN secretary-general in the body’s history.

Grynspan, 70, was born to Jewish parents Manuel Grynspan Burstin and Sara Mayufis Schapiro in San José. Her parents fled Poland in 1936, while her maternal grandparents stayed behind and were killed during the Holocaust.

Grynspan’s husband – Saul Weisleder – is also Jewish, and they have two children. Her sister, Frida, lives in Israel, and Grynspan has a niece and nephew who served in the IDF. In a 2014 interview with the Tico Times, Frida referred to herself as a “lifelong Zionist.”

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Costa Rica and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Sussex in England, Grynspan became a professor and researcher at the Economic Science Research Institute of the University of Costa Rica.

She served as vice finance minister from 1986 to 1988, and as the second vice president of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. She then became the first woman to serve as the secretary-general of the Ibero-American General Secretariat from 2014 to 2021 and then the first woman to become the secretary-general of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 2021. She currently holds this position.

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In a video explaining why she chose to run for secretary-general, Grynspan said: “Conflicts are going up, trust in international law in the organization is going down, and time is running out.”

“I am a daughter of peace; my parents were refugees of the Second World War. I know what wars take away and what peace makes possible; that’s why I’m running.”

Grynspan’s stance on Israel, Palestine

The Jerusalem Post’s research into Grynspan’s Israel and Palestine stances found that she has not maintained a public stance on either matter.

She did not post to social media on or immediately after the October 7 attacks. Her first post was on October 21, 2023, on X/Twitter, when she wrote, “Horrified by the tragic loss of life in Israel & Gaza. All civilians must be protected & we must work for peace in the region so people can have the future they want for themselves & their children. Hatred, terrorism, violence & war are not the way.”

On November 9, 2023, she wrote on Instagram, “I echo the call made by the highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the @UnitedNations system: Respect for international humanitarian and human rights law; Immediate and unconditional release of civilians held hostage; Civilians must be protected.”

Continue reading at www.jpost.com

Also read: Why the UN should pick a Palestinian over a Jew to be its next chief

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Sourcewww.jpost.com

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