This week in Jewish history: Moses ascends Mount Sinai, a massacre shakes Hebron

This week in Jewish history covers significant events from religious, historical, and cultural spheres. Key moments include Moses' third ascent of Mount Sinai in 1312 BCE, leading to divine forgiveness and the second Tablets of the Law. In more recent history, the Gaza Disengagement began on August 15, 2005, forcibly evicting over 8,500 Jewish residents, an event that ultimately led to increased terrorist attacks from vacated settlements. A tragic event occurred on August 24, 1929, when 67 Jewish individuals were massacred in Hebron by Arab neighbors during a three-day riot.

• President George Washington's 1790 letter to the Jewish community of Rhode Island affirmed that the U.S. government "gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance."
• The "Transfer Agreement" was signed on August 25, 1933, between the World Zionist Organization and the German government, facilitating the transfer of over $30 million for German Jewish immigrants to pre-state Israel.
• The World Zionist Organization was founded on August 29, 1897, at the first World Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, with Theodor Herzl noting in his diary, "At Basel I founded the Jewish State."
• On September 5, 1972, at the Munich Olympics, eight Black September terrorists kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli athletes during a botched rescue attempt by German police.