A Bahrain official said that the Arab country's naming of a Jewish woman as ambassador to the United States is "not a public relations move," the French news agency AFP reported. The nominee, Huda Nunu, will be the first Jewish envoy representing an Arab country.
A ranking official said that King Hamed's nominating her "reflects a climate of tolerance towards minorities in Bahrain." The king told the Bush administration of his intention to appoint Nunu when he visited the United States in March. Nunu, who is a legislator, is one of 37 Jews in the country of 530,000 people, mostly Muslims, whose majority are Shi'ites but who are ruled by a Sunni minority.