Study Finds UN Chief Consistently Harsher on Israel Than Other Countries

A new study by the Jewish People Policy Institute points to a consistent pattern of unusually negative treatment by UN Secretary-General António Guterres toward Israel. This was reported today (Sunday) by Israel Hayom.

The study was conducted by analysts from the Glazer Information Center and examined more than 1,100 official statements by Guterres from when he took office in 2017 through April 2026. The statements were compared with his comments about other countries accused of human-rights violations, including Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, and Qatar.

According to the report, the findings show that Israel is the country most frequently mentioned in the UN Secretary-General's statements, by a significant margin over all others. The volume of references is even higher than for Russia and is nearly triple that of Iran.

More than half of the statements concerning Israel are negative—the highest rate of any country examined. For comparison, there were more positive than negative statements about Iran. No negative statements were found about China, and Qatar received especially favorable treatment.

According to the study, even when Guterres criticizes Russia, the scope of criticism is lower than that directed at Israel. In addition, the stance toward Israel has grown harsher over the years, especially in the most recent period.

The researchers noted that while Guterres has expressed support for Israel's right to exist and its security, condemned the October 7 attack, and even met with families of hostages, the analysis points to a recurring pattern: even when he condemns terror against Israel, the emphasis quickly shifts to criticism of its policies.

The institute's president, Yedidia Stern: "The findings that emerge from the study are not based on feelings or political perceptions, but on a systematic analysis of hundreds of official statements. The picture that emerges is of a clear gap between the way the UN Secretary-General relates to Israel and the way he relates to other countries".

Stern added: "The role of the UN Secretary-General requires balance, caution, and uniform standards, as someone who acts on behalf of and for the entire international community. When the State of Israel, ranked fairly high on democracy indices by international organizations that specialize in rating democracies, is exposed to extreme criticism on such an unusual scale, while totalitarian states with a documented record of systematic human-rights violations against their citizens receive more moderate treatment, a fundamental question arises regarding Guterres's conduct".