On Tuesday, a group of students from St. Louis, Missouri visited the Temple Mishkan Israel, which served as a hub for Selma’s once-thriving Jewish community.

The 6th, 7th and 8th-graders began their tour of the city at the temple where they learned about the 120-year-old buildings history from the temple’s president and lifelong Selma native Ronnie Leet.

Leet showed the children the temple’s sanctuary which remains nearly the same as it did 120 years ago when the building was constructed by Jewish immigrants.

When it comes to the Queen City, the impactful Jewish is not the first thing that comes to mind.

However, according to Leet, the downtown businesses were 50 percent Jewish-owned and were a major part of developing businesses in the downtown area for years to come.

Now, the efforts to renovate the temple is the main priority of the Jewish community and is something that should be a priority for all who live here.

As of Tuesday, $33,108 has been raised to help save the temple.

More is needed and donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/temple-mishkan-israel.