PHILADELPHIA — A movement to pressure and isolate Israel was dealt a setback on Saturday when the Modern Language Association, one of the United States’ largest scholarly groups, took a step toward rejecting an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.

After two hours of contentious debate and procedural jockeying at its annual meeting here, the group’s delegate assembly voted 113 to 79 against a resolution endorsing a boycott, which had cited what it called Israel’s “systematic denial” of the academic freedom and educational rights of Palestinians.

Instead, the delegate council voted 101 to 93 to support a parallel measure urging the association to “refrain from endorsing the boycott” on the grounds that it runs counter to the group’s mission of promoting teaching, research and scholarly exchange.

The anti-boycott measure will be submitted to the group’s nearly 24,000 members after review by its executive council. In 2014, a more limited censure of Israel lost among the broader membership, which failed to reach a quorum.