Bahrain names Jewish woman to DC post

Bahrain named a Jewish woman as its ambassador to Washington.

Advertisement

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.

Recommended from JTA

Advertisement