The Board of Deputies has approved the membership of Yachad, the campaign group which lobbies for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Such was the controversy surrounding the application that a decision had twice been previously postponed.

While many had anticipated that the group might struggle to obtain the necessary two-thirds majority, deputies voted by 135 by 61 on Sunday to accept Yachad.

In a half-hour debate, most of the speakers supported its application, though a number stressed that they did not agree with the policies of the group but regarded its membership as a matter of democracy.

The Board should be a “big tent,” said former Euro-MP David Sumberg.

Board treasurer Laurence Brass, who described himself as an “unapologetic supporter” of Yachad, said: “When I travel the country seeking financial support for the Board, I always emphasise that we are the only truly representative Jewish communal body. If you vote against this resolution, I won’t be able to say that with any sincerity ever again and you’ll forfeit the right for any of us to call the Board of Deputies the representative body of British Jewry.”