Delegates at the United Church of Canada's national meeting rejected a series of motions calling for a boycott of Israel that were deemed anti-Semitic by Canadian Jewish organizations.

The resolutions before the council in Kelowna, B.C., called for a boycott of trade, cultural and academic activities with Israel, as well as financial and other sanctions.

In a video interview posted on the United Church's website on Thursday afternoon, spokesman Bruce Gregersen said the council has instead encouraged local congregations to undertake their own initiatives and study ways to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

He described the decision as "part of the freedom of the church," comparing it to the variety of opinions among different congregations on the church's acceptance of same-sex marriage.

"The council has simply said, 'We want you to take that freedom and use it as you wish to discern ways of ending the occupation'," Gregersen said.

Bernie Farber, the chief executive of the Canadian Jewish Congress who attended the council, commended the church for rejecting the "misguided and destructive" proposals he said were aimed at isolating and excluding Israel on the international stage.

"We are quite relieved and quite pleased," Farber told CBC News on Thursday. "The council understood it needed to be inclusive, not exclusive, and a boycott is exclusive by nature."

Farber, who earlier in the week warned that the approval of such measures could do "irreparable" harm to relations between the United Church and his organization, said he and other CJC representatives came to Kelowna to bring a "balance" to the proceedings.

"We're thankful that we can continue our dialogue together," he said.

On Tuesday, delegates voted almost unanimously to reject key segments of the resolutions, which the church acknowledged were unbalanced and unfair toward Israel.

They included documents that likened the Israeli political authority to "South African apartheid" and classified Canadian MPs' free junkets to Israel as "bribes."