A vicar who posted a link to an article suggesting Israel carried out the 9/11 attacks has been banned from saying anything about the Middle East on any platform.

Rev Stephen Sizer has been told not to write, speak, tweet or blog on the subject, and also cannot use social media for six months without being relieved of his position.

There is no guarantee that the vicar's social media ban will be lifted after this time, but his position as priest in charge at Christ Church Virginia Water in Surrey is safe.

The Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Revd Andrew Watson, said that the vicar’s anti-Zionist comments had become a liability to the Church, and apologised to British Jewry for the vicar's antisemitic post.

"I do not believe that his motives are antisemitic; but I have concluded that, at the very least, he has demonstrated appallingly poor judgment in the material he has chosen to disseminate, particularly via social media, some of which is clearly antisemitic.

"By associating with or promoting subject matter, which is either ambiguous in its motivation, or (worse still) openly racist, he has crossed a serious line. I regard these actions as indefensible.

"Most importantly of all, I am hugely sorry for the hurt which has been caused to members of the Jewish Community, and I hope and pray that the storms of the past two weeks will ultimately serve to deepen and strengthen our relationship, one with another."

The Board of Deputies welcomed the decision, saying the Diocese of Guildford had acted swiftly to resolve its concerns.

Board vice president Jonathan Arkush said: “We are grateful that the Church shared our deep concern that Rev Sizer had indeed crossed a line in the offensive materials he was posting and linking to online. We hope his unbecoming and inappropriate conduct has now been brought to a close.

“The Board together with the Diocese of Guildford and the Church of England strongly believe that good community relations are based on mutual respect and trust, which we now hope can be restored after this very unhappy episode."

The Board of Deputies complained to the Church about previous posts by Rev Sizer, and in 2013 met with him to agree on an acceptable level of behaviour.

The Council of Christians and Jews also welcomed the statement.

The organisation said Rev Sizer's writing and activities "have been a source of grave concern".

CCJ’s Director Jane Clements said: “We are grateful for the seriousness and clarity with which the Diocese of Guildford has addressed this case, since this sends a clear message that Christians have a duty to identify and challenge antisemitism in all its forms.

“We are working on guidelines to enable Christians and others to be very clear on what constitutes antisemitism and what is legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies. ”

Last year, Rev Sizer attended a conference in Iran where Israel was accused of plotting the attacks on New York’s World Trade Centre buildings in a session called ‘Zionist Fingerprints on the 9/11 Cover-up’.