Some previous posts about Haredim in BS finally see some explanation

Not too long ago I wrote about the appropriation of the Ko Tomar school building by the representative of Rabbi Perlstein on the City Council, to be transferred instead to the seminary of Mrs. Perlstein.

At the time I did not have too many details and I left it kind of open, just informing you of the appropriation. There were some rumors about how it happened, but I had nothing substantial, so I chose not to write anything more about it.

The rumors and hearsay have not died down. The only difference is, is that now the national Haredi press has written about it, which I consider to mean there must be something substantial, or at least serious, to it. And if the national Haredi press has already written about it, then I can write about it, because it is no longer just a rumor.

Another issue that has been in the Bet Shemesh news has been the resurgence of the debate over the planned Business and Municipal Center, aka "the Maar". About 6 or 7 weeks ago, the Ministry of Housing issued a tender regarding the construction of the Maar. That led to the renewal of the Haredi opposition to the building of the Maar.

The complexing thing about it happened a few weeks later. An ad was placed in the local Haredi press calling for the opposition to the Maar and it was signed by a plethora of Haredi Rabbonim. There was one signature that was noticeably missing form the list of Haredi Rabbis signed on the pashkevil. That would be the signature of Rabbi Perlstein. It was perplexing because until now he had been the Rabbinic leader of the fight against the Maar and suddenly his name is not on the list.
No explanation was offered as to why Rabbi Perlstein's name was left off. Rumors and theories abounded.

This past week, in the Ba'Kehilla newspaper (a Haredi weekly newspaper), there was an article about Bet Shemesh politics. It was mostly about the Haredi parties and their relationship with the current mayor and possible moves for the upcoming elections, including possibly fielding a Haredi candidate for mayor.

The writer digressed and there was also discussion of some of the infighting among the Haredi politicians. He got on the topic of the Maar and mentioned the seemingly lack of coordination on the fight against the Maar. He mentions the rumor, the one that I had refrained from mentioning, as possibly the reason a certain prominent Rabbi (aka Rabbi P) had not signed the letter and joined the fight. He says that it is called "Maar in exchange for a Seminar" - In other words, the rumor is that Rabbi Perlstein was given the building for his wife's seminar on condition that he back out of the fight against the Maar. And he took the deal.

Sure, it is still just a rumor, and the writer does not have any proof to this, and he only mentions it as a claim, but the rumor is now out in the air and in public.

So for his personal benefit (his wife's, but it is the same difference), he seemingly sold out the public he was claiming to lead. That is how he got the seminary building for his wife's seminary, and that is why his name was not on the list of Rabbis calling for opposition to the Maar. Still a rumor, but at a much higher level.