By Ron Dermer

When I became Israel’s Ambassador to the United States in 2013, my wife and I arrived in Washington, DC with five children under the age of 10, including a two-year-old boy and four-month old girl.

We hoped to hire an au pair so that my wife could assume the duties that come from being an Ambassador’s spouse, from hosting events in our official residence to attending functions in DC to accompanying me on visits outside of the capital.

One of my colleagues at our embassy told me that a woman named Helen, the sister of his Indian au pair, was interested in coming to America to work as well. While my wife was nervous about bringing someone into our home whom she had never met before, we decided to take a chance on Helen.

Helen proved to be a godsend — a smart, kind, and trustworthy woman who treated our children as if they were her own. It didn’t take long before my wife felt confident enough to leave our kids alone in Helen’s capable hands. Helen even earned the respect and trust of the toughest family critic, my mother, who admired her work ethic and resourcefulness.

But as time went on, it was harder and harder for Helen to be away from her husband Vinaya and her daughter Roshni, who was only 12 when Helen left India in order to provide her with a better future. When Vinaya was able to fill a vacant position in the Ambassador’s residence, some of Helen’s........

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