Elisabeth Kendall
elisabethkendall.bsky.social
Elisabeth Kendall
@elisabethkendall.bsky.social
"The Mistress" / President of Girton College, Cambridge University. Arabist, Middle East specialist (militant jihad; Yemen; Arabic poetry). No ivory towers here...
Loved doing this episode of "Empires of Faith" with Mattias Hessérus! From #Arabic #poetry & jihadi narratives to #Yemen’s civil war & and what it would take to build regional peace. Watch it here: youtu.be/3jFeQrk1u-U
November 13, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Great to see this shoutout for #poetry at Girton College, University of Cambridge, in the Times Literary Supplement! We have a buzzing poetry scene & we're looking forward to celebrating alumna poet Veronica Forrest-Thomson (1947–75) this Saturday. Details here: www.girton.cam.ac.uk/events/veron...
November 12, 2025 at 11:00 AM
It was wonderful to welcome the Chancellor (Lord Chris Smith), Vice Chancellor (Prof Deborah Prentice) and eminent speaker (historian Prof Jeremy Adelman) to Girton College, University of Cambridge, this week for our inaugural Global History Lecture!
November 7, 2025 at 5:25 PM
It can't all be hard work! A magical, enchanting, spellbinding evening at Girton College, Cambridge University 🦉
@girtoncollege.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Last week, the Mahra Youth Unity Association, a grass roots NGO in east #Yemen, was honoured to organise a workshop to train #women to engage in local conflict mediation & crisis management.

🙏 to partners Saferworld, Resonate! Yemen, Yemen's Civil Alliance for Peace, & EU funding
October 28, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Today's Freshers' Concert at Girton College Cambridge was fabulissimo! From Rachmaninov & Fauré through to an ivory tower shattering rendition of Satriani's "Surfing with the Alien" by one of our Natural Scientists on electric guitar, much of it played backwards over his head. Just wow.
October 26, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Good to catch up with NATO colleagues & Middle East partners in Rome yesterday - we weren't short of discussion points
October 21, 2025 at 2:02 PM
How close do the hostage release & #Trump's #Gaza plan really bring us to peace? Here's the opening of an interview I gave yesterday as events unfolded. To watch it all on this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKaz...
October 14, 2025 at 4:58 PM
If you're a British national and keen to improve your #Arabic with a fully funded scholarship to beautiful #Oman next summer, find our how to apply here:
www.britishomani.org/online-arabi...

Organised by @BritishOmani with generous support from Oman's 🇴🇲 Ministry of Foreign Affairs
October 11, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Here's this morning's team photo with our new postgrad intake at Girton College, University of Cambridge! Our postgrad Freshers span 58 different countries across 6 continents. What a privilege to welcome such a diverse group of talented students! @girtoncollege.bsky.social
October 1, 2025 at 3:45 PM
BBC presenter Tanya Beckett invited me on to this week's episode of "The Talk Diaries" to discuss #Yemen in the broader #MiddleEast conflict. Here's a clip.
For the whole thing, go to youtube.com/watch?v=A63o...
September 24, 2025 at 6:28 PM
At least 21 further UN personnel were detained by #Yemen's #Houthis on 31 Aug (3 days after #Israel's 16th round of airstrikes on Yemen that killed the Houthi Prime Minister & many others).

As Yemen continues to unravel, the UN Special Envoy Grundberg will brief the UN #SecurityCouncil later today.
September 15, 2025 at 6:07 AM
What are the implications of #Israel's killing of the Prime Minister of #Yemen's #Houthis? Here's a short extract - to watch the whole interview, go to youtu.be/twIp0qBep1Ma
September 4, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I spoke to ABC's breakfast show about #Israel's killing of the #Houthi Prime Minister in #Yemen. What does it tell us? Where might it lead? Here are the first couple of minutes. For the whole interview, go to youtu.be/roEO9bWxvis
September 1, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Happy days: congratulating Stormzy on his Honorary Doctorate from Cambridge University last month. Read more about what Stormzy has done for higher education via this link: www.bbc.com/news/article...
August 25, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Come & work with us at Girton College, Cambridge University! We're seeking a Head of Governance & College Registrar. Here's a half-minute glimpse into life at beautiful Girton ... so check out the job details here:
www.girton.cam.ac.uk/job-vacancie...
@girtoncollege.bsky.social
August 15, 2025 at 9:48 AM
All credit to UN Special Envoy to #Yemen, Hans Grundberg, for sticking with it...
August 12, 2025 at 4:50 PM
#Yemen's #Houthis impose sanctions on 64 shipping companies. What's interesting is the scope:
1/ This applies beyond the Red Sea to Bab al-Mandab, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and "any area in reach"
2/ Any company ship is a target irrespective of its individual link to #Israel or nationality
August 7, 2025 at 4:24 PM
100+ African migrants believed drowned off #Yemen's coast. What desperation drives people to cross dangerous waters to a deadly war zone armed only with hope? Yet this is not an isolated incident. Read this 2020 award-winning report with its unsettling photos: apimagesblog.com/blog/2020/2/...
August 4, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Great to note a record seizure (750+ tons) of munitions & hardware sent by #Iran to the #Houthis. But it's also a reminder of issues looming for #Yemen further down the road...
July 17, 2025 at 5:13 PM
What should we make of #Israel's renewed bombing of #Houthi held ports in #Yemen; and the resumption of attacks on commercial shipping in the #RedSea? Quick take:
July 7, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Amazing night at Girton College launching Tim Boniface's album "Psalter: Themes for Peace" with the world's coolest chaplain Rev Dr Tim alongside #jazz stars James Pearson (our Musician in Residence & Artistic Director of Ronnie Scott's), Malcolm Creese on bass & Jon Ormston giving it some on drums!
July 6, 2025 at 11:05 AM
So much fun today, celebrating all our amazing new graduates at Girton College, University of Cambridge
@girtoncollege.bsky.social
July 4, 2025 at 6:46 PM
What levers does #Iran still have? There's one that tends to be overlooked...
June 23, 2025 at 6:39 PM
The women rowers of @girtoncollege.bsky.social at the University of Cambridge demonstrate their extraordinary strength!
June 21, 2025 at 9:48 PM