Friday, April 25, 2008

Jewish woman to head Bahraini watchdog

A Bahraini Jewish woman, Huda Azra Noono, has been elected to head the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, making her the first non-Muslim to head a human rights watchdog in the country. (Acknowledgements: normblog)

"I am honoured to be elected the secretary-general of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, and I will do my best to help promote human rights in the country," Noono yesterday told Gulf News.

"We will work together as a team to ensure that people's rights in all areas are preserved," she said following the board elections.

Mrs Noono is one of 30 Jews still living in Bahrain, the remnant of a 450-strong community founded in 1904. The article paints an idyllic picture of Muslim-Jewish coexistence.

It is true that Bahraini Jews enjoy full rights and live in harmony with their neighbours. But the article chooses not to mention that the synagogue was destroyed, two Jews killed and several injured in rioting in 1947; and that petrol bombs were thrown at Jewish homes in 1967.

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