Houda Nonoo

Infobox_Politician


birth_date =
name = Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo
residence = Bahrain
office = National Assembly
term_start =
term_end =
successor =
constituency =

Houda Ezra Nonoo (also Hoda Nono; _ar. هدى عزرا نونو) is the Bahraini Ambassador to the United States. She was appointed to the position by decree of Foreign Affairs Minister Khaled Ben Ahmad Al-Khalifa. Nounou is the first Jewish person, and third woman, to be appointed ambassador of Bahrain. She is also the first Jewish ambassador of any Arab country [ [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2008/06/08/006-bahrein-diplomatie.shtml?ref=rss "Bahreïn persiste et signe"] , Radio Canada, June 8, 2008] [ [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2008/05/31/004-Bahrein-juive.shtml "Une juive ambassadrice d'un pays arabe"] , Radio Canada, May 31, 2008] [cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7426806.stm|title=Bahrain names Jewish ambassador|publisher=BBC News |date=2008-05-30|accessdate=2008-05-30|last=|first=] , and the first female Bahraini ambassador to the United States. [cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988420.html|title=Bahraini king taps Jewish woman lawmaker as envoy to U.S.|publisher=Haaretz|date=2008-06-08 |accessdate=2008-05-29|last=|first=] Some local media criticized the appointment [cite web |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080608/pl_nm/bahrain_jew_envoy_dc_1|title=Bahrain picks Jew as U.S. envoy, local media critical|publisher=Reuters|date=2008-05-08 |accessdate=2008-06-08|last=|first=] , and Radio Canada reported that her nomination was controversial within Bahrain, with some suggesting that a Jewish person might not be the best choice to defend Bahrain's refusal to recognise Israel. Al-Khalifa rejected these concerns. [ [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2008/06/08/006-bahrein-diplomatie.shtml?ref=rss "Bahreïn persiste et signe"] , Radio Canada, June 8, 2008]

Prior to her appointment, she was president of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, and had for three years been a member of parliament (40-member Shura Council), after being appointed by King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah. Her appointment made headlines because Houda is part of the small Jewish community of Bahrain. Bahrain's Jewish community reportedly consists in just thirty-seven people, most of whom are immigrants from Iraq and Iran. [ [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2008/05/31/004-Bahrein-juive.shtml "Une juive ambassadrice d'un pays arabe"] , Radio Canada, May 31, 2008] [ [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/International/2008/06/08/006-bahrein-diplomatie.shtml?ref=rss "Bahreïn persiste et signe"] , Radio Canada, June 8, 2008] Nonoo is not the first person in her family to enter Bahraini politics, or member of the Jewish community. In 2000, a relative by the name Ebrahim Daoud Nonoo was appointed to parliament. The Nonoo family is originally from Iraq having moved to Bahrain over a century ago [he icon cite news
url=http://news.walla.co.il/?w=/2/1019749
title=בחריין: יהודיה תכהן בפרלמנט
publisher=Walla!
date=6 December 2006
accessdate=2006-12-07] .

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