António Guterres, outgoing secretary-general of the United Nations, dispatched a High Holiday message to his 4.4 million followers on social media on the eve of Yom Kippur.
“As Jews around the world mark Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, I would like to extend my warmest wishes for a day of reflection, healing and peace,” the U.N. chief wrote. “May this sacred day bring strength, comfort and hope.”
Guterres extended Rosh Hashanah greetings to Jews in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022. This appeared to be the first year that he sent a Yom Kippur but not a Rosh Hashanah message.
Rosh Hashanah, which is 10 days before Yom Kippur, begins the High Holiday period. Yom Kippur concludes it.
The secretary-general’s apparent first Yom Kippur message comes after JNS asked his office on Friday if the global body would issue a High Holiday message this year, after he failed to do so on Rosh Hashanah.
The secretary-general and the global body which he leads have long been accused of anti-Israel bias, and Jewish U.N. employees have told JNS that it became very difficult to work at the global body since Oct. 7.
JNS reported in 2023 that the United Nations regularly sent holiday wishes to many other faith groups on social media but hadn’t done so for Jewish holidays.
The following year, after JNS asked a Guterres spokesman why the global body didn’t issue High Holiday greetings. The United Nations then told JNS that it wished a “happy, peaceful Yom Kippur” to Jews in October 2024.
Jews don’t typically wish one another a “happy” Yom Kippur given the day’s solemn nature. Many wish an “easy” or “meaningful” fast, or gmar chatimah tova, that one’s verdict should be sealed for good in the Book of Life for the following year.
In 2024, the United Nations wished its more than 16 million followers a “blessed and peaceful Yom Kippur.” It did the same in 2025.
