Bahraini Ambassador Nonoo one of ‘most influential Jews’

TDT | Manama

Ambassador Houda Nonoo was named as one of the most influential Jewish personalities by The Jerusalem Post as part of their annual list of those who have made an impact in the world in a variety of sectors.

She is ranked 26th among the 50 most influential Jews on the list. She is listed alongside Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, former PM Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Ronald Lauder, Ayelet Shaked, David Friedman, Steve Mnuchin, Jared Kushner, Yossi Cohen and others.

Nonoo is the first Jew from an Arab country to ever be featured on this coveted list. She was a founding member of the Bahrain Human Rights Society in 2004 where she focused on women’s rights and children’s rights and domestic workers. Nonoo became the first Jewish female Ambassador from Bahrain, and the first Jewish woman from any of the Arab or Muslim states to be an Ambassador to Washington. She always says that despite this historic first, as a woman and a Jewish Ambassador to Washington, “I’m Bahraini first.”

Nonoo’s family came to Bahrain from Iraq in the 1880s and she is from the second generation born in the Gulf kingdom. The Jewish community at its highest point had 1,500 people; now the community has about 50 people, and Nonoo is related to all of them from either her mother’s or father’s side. Nonoo’s role in the Bahrain Foreign Ministry and her role now with the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities (AGJC) and other organizations is important for Bahrain and as a symbol of the new peace and coexistence opportunities that are forming in the region.

Nonoo was a founding member of the Bahrain Human Rights Society in 2004 where she focused on women’s rights and children’s rights and domestic workers. She was appointed in 2006 by His Majesty to the Shura Council which is the Upper House of Parliament where she served on economic and financial committees.

She was also a non-resident ambassador in Mexico, Brazil, Canada and Argentina.