The Chabad movement has come under fire in posters in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox areas for its intention to hold the "water-drawing festival" after the first day of the Sukkot holiday ends tomorrow night. The festival, recalling an ancient custom, is held every year with thousands of participants during the interim days of Sukkot. However this year, extremely strict non-Hasidic rabbis have warned against what they call the danger of "lewdness" during the festivities. They have banned all celebrations except those taking place indoors, to insure the strict separation of men and women.

This ban comes after non-Hasidic rabbis prohibited their followers from attending concerts and shows ("sing-alongs" as they called them) during the summer, even where men and women were separated. The latest ban has led the municipality of Bnai Brak, which has a large Orthodox population, to cancel its public water-drawing festivities.