Dore Gold, JCPA President, and Dr. Michael Borchard, Director, Israel Office of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, which cosponsored the event, gave opening remarks.

The Balfour Declaration: Past, Present and Future were topics of the morning sessions introduced by former Ambassador  Zvi Mazel, and current JCPA chairman. Mazel said the first clashes between Arabs and Jews came in 1918, on the first year anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. 

Prof. Andrew Roberts, Department of War Studies, King’s College, London, and Founding Member, Friends of Israel Initiative, spoke on the "The Historical Paths to the Balfour Declaration."  "The centenary of the Balfour Declaration is 2 November 1917, the statement made by the British government that paved the way for the Jewish state of Israel three decades later in May 1948. In it, the British foreign secretary and former prime minister, Arthur Balfour, wrote that ‘His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." The British government hoped with a "small notch" of land of their forefathers, the Jews would again make the desert bloom. Supporting friends over enemies was something friends used to do," quipped Roberts. 

Roberts was a hard act to follow, as Col. Richard Kemp, former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, said in his opening remarks on, "Israel as a Strategic Asset to Britain." Israel is a "strategic asset to Britain." As the balance is shifting and slowly and quietly more are looking to Israel and NATO refocuses to threat of global Islamic Jihad, Kemp asks, perhaps it is "time for a new Balfour Declaration."

Prof. Julius H. Schoeps, Director of the Moses Mendelsohn Centre of European Jewish Studies at Potsdam University gave his views on 100 Years Later, What Will the Future Hold.

Legal Issues was chaired by David Horowitz, editor of The Times of Israel.  Lawyers in the audience especially appreciated the sessions with Prof. Ruth Lapidoth, Hebrew University, and Israel Prize recipient, on "Was the Declaration a Legally Binding Document?" There must be intent to be binding, plus it must be precise and clear; Prof. Nicholas Rostow of Colgate University, "The Continued Relevance of the Balfour Declaration" and "From the 1917 Balfour Declaration to the Rebirth of Israel in 1948 – Connecting the Dots from the Perspective of International Law" by International lawyer Dr. Jacques Gauthier who has served as legal counsel to the governments of France, Spain, Mexico and Canada. Part of Gauthier's slide presentation is included in photo essay.

After lunch, the concluding and third session was chaired by  Dan Diker of Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

"Israel and the International Community 100 Years After the Balfour Declaration" was presented by German Ambassador to Israel, Clemens von Goetze. Goetze stated that after the Nazis, Germans feel responsibility to support right of people to live in peace, with a "homeland of Jewish people... two people side by side in peace."

"From the Balfour Declaration to a Palestinian State?  was the topic addressed by Moshe Arens,  Former Israeli Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs. Arens said one of his most unpleasant, negative experiences was in the British Foreign Office. Arens also predicted change for the better. 

Former Israeli Ambassador Daniel Taub, and presently Director of Strategy and Planning at the Yad Hanadiv (Rothschild) Foundation in Jerusalem, spoke on " Lessons for Diplomats from the Balfour Declaration>" Taub drew on literature from George Elliot to James Joyce, to show feelings expressed on Zionism in British thought over the years.

The last of long list of expert speakers, was Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, JCPA. His topic was "How the Palestinians View the Balfour Declaration Today." According to Kuperwasser, the core narrative of the Palestinian Authority is built on Seven Pillars: 1. There is no Jewish people, only a religion. 2. They have no historical justification. 3. Jews are terrible people. 4. The struggle is against Zionism, until Zionism disappears. 5. We are the only victims of this conflict. 6. Our struggle is Islamic and national at same time. 7. Our struggle is for all of Palestine. 

However, Kuperwasser ended the day on an optimistic note by saying, with the new administration in the United States, Europe under threat, and the new Middle East shift, it is now time to look at options and in different directions.