Houda Nonoo
Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo (born September 7, 1964, in Manama, Bahrain) is a Bahraini politician and former ambassador to the United States. She was appointed to the role on July 3, 2008, by Foreign Affairs Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. She was the first Jewish person and the third woman to be Bahrain’s ambassador, and the first Jewish ambassador from any Arab country to the United States.
Houda comes from a Jewish business family with roots in present-day Iraq. Her grandfather Ibrahim Nonoo left Baghdad in 1888 and started a business in Bahrain. She spent time in the United Kingdom, where she attended Carmel College and earned an MBA. She married Salman Idafar, a British Jew, and they have two sons, Menasheh and Ezra. After her father died in a car accident, she returned to Bahrain to run the Basma Company, a business offering office services, and became a successful businesswoman.
Before entering politics, she founded the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society in 2004 to promote women's rights and the rights of foreign workers. She then served on the 40-member Shura Council (Majlis al-shura) from 2005 to 2008, appointed by King Hamad.
Her appointment as ambassador drew attention because Bahrain’s Jewish community is very small—about 37 people. Some questioned whether a Jew could defend Bahrain’s stance on Israel, but the king supported her.
As ambassador, she made changes at the embassy, including hosting mixed-gender iftar events and organizing interfaith meetings with local imams, rabbis, and Christian clergy.
Her term ended in November 2013, and she was succeeded by Abdullah bin Mohammad bin Rashed Al Khalifa, who had been Bahrain’s military attaché in Washington.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:51 (CET).