An Ontario teachers union local in Toronto has overwhelmingly rejected a controversial motion asking for a condemnation of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.

The motion, including a call to create classroom materials on the conflict and to support an international boycott of Israel, was brought to the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation by English teacher and Jewish activist Jason Kunin, who has often criticized the Israeli government, and Hyssam Hulays, a computer science teacher.

It had caused an uproar among Jewish advocacy organizations that feared the motion could result in anti-Semitism in the classroom.

Final vote tallies were not available.

"The Middle East is a complex issue, very, very complicated, and to be able to come to some kind of understanding or a policy about it, it's impossible for an organization," said Doug Jolliffe, head of the Toronto local.

"The level of discourse has been just incredibly low and vile," Jolliffe had earlier told the Canadian Press about approving the debate. "But to turn and say we cannot have any kind of discussions on this … It's not Holocaust denial, where there is no argument to be made."

B'nai Brith launched an e-mail campaign calling on teachers and others to contact the union local and urge it to drop the motion, adding it ignored human rights abuses in other countries and contained no condemnation of Palestinian violence.

"This is not an opportunity to discuss," said B'nai Brith executive director Frank Dimant. "This is bringing propaganda into the classroom. And I think propaganda has no place in Canadian classrooms."