Bahrain’s ambassador to the United States, Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo is Jewish, several Jewish Bahraini business leaders have been appointed to the Shura Council (an upper house of Bahrain’s Parliament) and King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa even made a pewrsonal visit to London in order to appeal to expatriate Jews to return to Bahrain. Not bad for an Arab country that only actually has 36 Jews in it. So says the New York Times:
Many people said the king’s overtures were a safe and convenient bid to cement ties with Washington… “We always believe here that control of America is governed by the Zionist lobby,†said Salman Kamal al-Deen, a businessman and the head of the Bahrain Human Rights Society. “The media and the money are all in the hands of the Jews. We believe if we have a Jewish ambassador and Jews in the Shura Council, this is a positive indicator for the country.â€
Though not all is well – the King is a Sunni but the majority of Bahrainis are Shiites who are somewhat disenfranchised and resent the attention lavished on the Jews. And forget about political correctness… speaking about one of the Jewish Bahraini shopkeepers interviewed for the story, “Fouad Shehab, a history professor at Bahrain University, said it was easy to like Mr. Rouben. “I’ve known Rouben for years,†he said with a smile. “I go to buy from him. I don’t feel he is a Jew.—
Well, I guess it beats a kick in the pants, right?
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What do Jews feel like?