A Tradition Since Our Founding
It's no accident that Britain appears in IBCA's name. The Balfour Declaration of November 2nd, 1917 — the British Government's commitment to a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine — is widely regarded as the pivotal step that made the eventual establishment of the State of Israel possible. In recognition of that, IBCA has marked the anniversary with a flagship event every November for most of our history, built around two guest speakers, one from the UK and one from Israel.
Over the years the guest list has read like a who's-who of the relationship between Israel, Britain and the Commonwealth: Yitzhak Rabin spoke to us twice, first as Defence Minister and later as Prime Minister; Shimon Peres, Tsipi Livni and Yair Lapid have addressed us from the Israeli side, while Gordon Brown, William Hague, Boris Johnson, Lord Woolf and Lord Goldsmith have done so from the British. In 2018, the anniversary was marked at a dinner addressed by Lord Roderick Balfour — great-nephew of the Declaration's author — and former Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, in front of a room that included the British, Australian and Nigerian ambassadors among many others. Three years earlier, IBCA launched its centenary commemorations with a reception at the British Ambassador's residence, where former Israeli Ambassador to the UK Daniel Taub spoke and the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Shimon Samuels reflected on the significance of the date. The Jerusalem Post has covered the event for years, including through the writing of our Honorary President, Brenda Katten, who served as chair for many years and has long contributed her own column to the paper.
A Pause, Then a Rethink
We held our last Balfour dinner in 2024. In 2025, the security situation made it impossible to bring people together in the way the evening has traditionally required, so for the first time in years, we didn't hold one.
That gap gave us a chance to rethink the format rather than simply pick up where we left off. A formal sit-down dinner has real charm, but it can also feel stuffy — particularly to a younger generation who are less interested in dressing up to be seen and more interested in actually hearing what the speakers have to say. So this year the anniversary returns under a new name and a new shape: the Balfour Anniversary Events.
Introducing the Balfour Anniversary Events
This November, the evening opens as a buffet-style reception, with enough food and variety on offer for a full meal — no seating chart, no formal courses. That's followed by the speakers themselves, in an auditorium setting where people can actually focus on what's being said. The evening then closes with drinks and desserts, giving everyone the chance to mingle, ask questions, and speak with the speakers directly.
The aim is simple: keep the substance that has always made the anniversary worth attending, while opening up space for people to actually meet each other and the speakers, rather than staying pinned to a seat all evening. We're hoping it makes room for new connections in a way the old format never quite did.
We're pleased that the British Ambassador, Simon Walters, has accepted our invitation to speak at this year's event — continuing a line of ambassadorial involvement in the Balfour anniversary that goes back to IBCA's very first years.
Why This Matters to IBCA
The Balfour Declaration is the reason Britain sits in our name, and marking its anniversary properly, every year, is one of the clearest expressions of what IBCA exists to do. Changing the format isn't about changing what the evening means — it's about making sure the next generation actually wants to be in the room for it.