by NATASHA MOZGOVAYA
PHOTO/AP
One of Bahrain’s 36 Jews, Nonoo says she has never been discriminated against in her country, where woman are allowed to vote, choose to wear a headscarf and even drive.
The appointment of Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo (46), the first female Ambassador from Bahrain and the first Jewish Ambassador of an Arab country in Washington, was praised by U.S. diplomats when it was revealed recently in one of the Wikileaks cables.
It’s not rare to hear in diplomatic circles in Washington about the “smart move” the Bahrainis made, sending to the U.S. a Western-educated woman who represents a tiny minority of the kingdom’s population.
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She made a point, however, to say that her identity had nothing to do with Israel, which her country has no diplomatic relations with. “I have never visited Israel…. I’m Jewish. I’m not Israeli.”, she said in an interview. “I never knew anything about the Holocaust until I was 14. I never identified with Israel”. She expressed hope, however, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be resolved. “For the Arab world as a whole, it is on their agenda. I hope it happens.”
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via Pulse Media