Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo | |
|---|---|
 Ambassador Nonoo | |
| Bahraini ambassador to the United States | |
| In office 3 July 2008 – 15 November 2013 | |
| Succeeded by | Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Rashed Al Khalifa |
| Majlis al-shura | |
| In office 2005 – 3 July 2008 | |
| Succeeded by | Nancy Khedouri |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1964-09-07)7 September 1964 (age 60) |
| Spouse | Salman Idafar |
| Children | Menasheh Idafar, Ezra Idafar |
| Relatives | Misha Nonoo (cousin) |
| Residence | Manama (Bahrain) |
Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo (Arabic:هدى عزرا نونو; born 7 September 1964) served as theBahraini Ambassador to theUnited States from 2008 to 2013. She was appointed to the position by decree of Foreign Affairs MinisterKhaled Ben Ahmad Al-Khalifa. Nonoo is the firstJew, and thirdwoman, to be appointed ambassador of Bahrain. She is also the first Jewish ambassador of anyMiddle EasternArab country,[1][2][3] and the first female Bahraini ambassador to the United States.[4]
Nonoo was born inManama, to a family ofJewish business entrepreneurs with origins in present-dayIraq. Nonoo's grandfather Ibrahim leftBaghdad in 1888 and started a financial business in Bahrain.[5][6][7]
Nonoo lived for an extended period of time in theUnited Kingdom, where she attendedCarmel College, a Jewish boarding school,[8] and earned anMBA. She also met and married Salman Idafar,[9] a British Jew, with whom she had two sons;Menasheh and Ezra. After her father died in a car accident, she returned to Bahrain to take over the Basma Company,[10] a company offering different office services, from IT[11] to janitoring, hence becoming a successful businesswoman after inheriting the family's business.[12]
Prior to her appointment to theMajlis al-shura in 2005,[13] she founded in 2004 and presided over theBahrain Human Rights Watch Society, a society for the advancement of women's rights[14] as well as of foreign workers in Bahrain. For a total of three years served as a member ofparliament (40-member Shura Council), after being appointed by KingHamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah. Her appointment made headlines because Houda is part of thesmall Jewish community ofBahrain. Bahrain's Jewish community reportedly consists of just 37 people, most of whom are the descendants of immigrants fromIraq andIran.[1][2] Nonoo is not the first person in her family to enterBahraini politics, or member of theJewish community. In 1934, her grandfather Abraham Nonoo served as a member of the Manama Municipality, the first ever elected municipal body in Bahrain.[15] In 2000, a cousin,Ebrahim Daoud Nonoo was appointed toparliament. The Nonoo family is originally fromIraq having moved toBahrain over a century ago.[16]
On 3 July 2008, Nonoo was appointed Ambassador of theKingdom of Bahrain to the United States, a role that also included responsibility over Bahraini diplomatic representation to Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina (non-resident). Some local media criticized the appointment,[17] andRadio Canada reported that her nomination was controversial within Bahrain, with some suggesting that a Jew might not be the best choice to defend Bahrain's refusal to recogniseIsrael. King Al-Khalifa rejected these concerns.[1]
During her term as ambassador, she made quite a few changes at the embassy, like changing theiftar from all-male gatherings to mixed-gender events with lectures onIslam and also introduced and interfaith reunions with local imams, rabbis and Christian clergy as guests.[9]
Her role ended in November 2013, when she was replaced byAbdullah bin Mohammad bin Rashed Al Khalifa, until then the military attaché of Bahrain in Washington.[18]
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