BAHRAIN NAMES A JEWISH, WOMAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES

Huda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo is named as Bahrain’s next Ambassador to the United States. Bahrain has long enjoyed close diplomatic ties with America so the appointment of a new Ambassador is not unusual - usually.

This appointment is historic for a couple of reasons. First Ambassador Huda is a woman. Rarely do Islamic States send women as their envoys to foreign powers. Secondly, and even more unusual is that Ambassador Huda is Jewish. She comes from that small Jewish population that remains in otherwise Arab Bahrain.

There has been a small Jewish population in many of the Arab states for hundreds if not thousands of years. Most have long departed for Israel due to persecution by their Muslim neighbors. Bahrain has been an enclave of religious freedom in the region. Many of the Jewish families there emigrated from Iraq over the last several hundred years. Her family came in the later part of the 19th century. In 1948, there were anti-Jewish riots in Bahrain, as in many places in the region. Most of the Jewish population left at that time but a number of families did not. The trading family known as the Nonoo family decided to stay.

The head of the family today is Ebrahim Daoud Nonoo, who is the Ambassador’s grandfather and head of the Basma Company. This large trading conglomerate markets equipment, cleaning services, and security services to other firms in the region.

Huda, a businesswoman herself, was the first Jewish woman to sit on Bahrain’s Shura Council, a 40-member consultative body that is the upper house of the bicameral legislature. She replaced her uncle. A Christian woman, Alice Sama’an, also sits on the Shura council which interestingly enough has 11 women, compared with only one elected woman MP, Lateefa Al Gaood, in the 40-member lower house.

Ambassador Huda also is the first Jewish woman to head a National level Human rights organization - the Bahrain Human Rights Watch. She is its secretary-general.

Bahrain is one of the top countries in the Arab world when it comes human development and providing educational opportunities to women, according to a United Nations report. The Arab Human Development Report 2005 classed Bahrain as a country of high human development and ranked it 43rd in the world Human Development Index (HDI).

Bahrain’s government insists it is not trying to send a message to America with the appointment and that the Ambassador was picked based on her extensive talents. Bahrain has many talented people and is at the forefront of using the talents of its female population. In this case, I think Bahrain has chosen wisely.

Bahrain International Motor Show postponed due to lack of Interest

The first annual Bahrain International Motor Show which was scheduled to open 24-27 April in Bahrain in cooperation with Messe Essen GmbH has been postponed until October 4th according to the Bahrain Exhibition and Convention Authority (BECA).

The event, to be held at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Center, was hoped to be packed with different activities in addition to parallel events at the Bahrain International Circuit such as 4X4 rides and drag racing.

It has been postponed due to lack of adequate entries, said BECA senior sales officer and BIMS 2008 project manager Ali Al Shehabi.

Obviously, BECA’s German partners promised more than they could deliver on short notice.

"Exhibitors that have confirmed their participation in BIMS this year are from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UK, Germany, Japan and the UAE," he said. "But the entries that we have received are not what we were expecting and need more exhibitors. We hope to encourage more exhibitors to join the event by October." National pavilions from Germany, Taiwan and the UAE have already reserved a presence at the event.

BECA, which owns and produces BIMS in joint venture with Germany's Messe Essen GmbH, is headed by Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro.

BIMS 2008, when finally held, promises to be a spectacular experience for trade show visitors as well as the entire family.

"BIMS is shaping up to be a hallmark event for Bahrain with its unique exhibits of production, concept and performance cars across different brands," he says.

"Its inaugural launch in October coincides with the celebration of Eid Al Fitr, enabling thousands of car enthusiasts and families to visit the show." Dr Fakhro said that the new dates in autumn would make it more viable for Bahrain's auto dealers to showcase their new models and concept cars.

"We are working closely with the automotive media for additional visitor marketing promotions and have launched an extensive promotional campaign in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Bahrain to increase visitor attendance to BIMS 2008," said BECA acting chief executive officer Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen.

“Motorsports in particular, and the automotive industry, in general, are an important driver of Bahrain’s economy. The success story that is The Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and the recent launching of the German, high-performance sports car maker, RUF GmbH in Bahrain, the first ever automobile manufacturing and assembly facility in the Arab world, are testimony to the wealth of entrepreneurial and high-tech skills residing in the country,” says Mohammed Dhirar Al Shaer, CEO of BECA. “Bahrain Motor Show is one of the ideal platforms for the Kingdom’s automotive industry to be placed on the international map and win in the race for economic prosperity.”

This is most unfortunate for all concerned. The show is a great concept and we hope it can be salvaged in October.