(JNS) U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a veteran Democratic lawmaker and icon of the civil-rights movement, is currently co-sponsoring resolutions for and against the anti-Israel BDS movement, leading to questions as to whether or not he supports boycotting the Jewish state. Last week, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) introduced a bill affirming the right to boycott countries. It was widely seen as a bid by Omar, who openly supports the BDS movement, to push back against U.S. laws banning the boycott of Israel. Rep. Lewis’s co-sponsorship of the bill is seen by some as lending credibility to the resolution.

In a statement to JNS, Lewis refuted the notion that Omar’s recent bill supports the BDS movement. “We must be very careful in these times of gross exaggeration and whipped up hostility to verify allegations and accusations that are being reported,” he told JNS. “Jewish and African-American communities know all too well how sensationalism and misrepresentation of the facts can be used by the worst forces in our world community to tear down democracy in favor of the knee-jerk reaction.” “We must also reject politics that demonize personalities and continue to defend the ideals of true democracy when it is most urgent,” he continued. “

Although the pro-boycott resolution introduced by Omar does not explicitly mention Israel, speaking last week to Al-Monitor, Omar called the resolution “… an opportunity for us to explain why it is we support a nonviolent movement, which is the BDS movement.” Lewis contested this, saying, “I guarantee that if members of the community actually read the text of H. Res. 496, a Judiciary Committee resolution introduced by Rep. Omar, they will discover it makes no mention of Israel. The resolution merely advocates for the right to protest as a central principle of democratic freedom.” The resolution also compares BDS to boycotts of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Other co-sponsors include Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Danny Davis (D-Ill.).

“Earlier this year, I co-sponsored H. Res 246, a bipartisan foreign affairs resolution that condemns the BDS campaign and efforts opposing Israel’s right to exist and the importance of two-state solution,” Lewis told JNS. “I want to remind you that I am a co-chair of the newly reorganized Black-Jewish Coalition Congressional Caucus and a key member of the Anti-Semitism Task Force,” he added. “My commitment to these imperatives is not and has not ever wavered.”

Like Lewis, J Street supports both resolutions despite claiming to oppose BDS.