Bahrain named a Jewish woman as its ambassador to Washington. Houda Nonoo told the Associated Press on Friday that she was proud to be named “first of all as a Bahraini.” This week’s formal appointment of the 43-year old mother of two follows leaked reports in Arabic language press a month ago. Nonoo is a member of Bahrain’s all-appointed upper legislature and heads a human rights group in the Persian Gulf island kingdom. Bahrain is considered to be at the forefront of a democratization push in the Arab world. Its tiny Jewish community of about 50 dates to Talmudic times; Nonoo is descended from Iraqi merchants who migrated in the late 19th century.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.