B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:  
 
We mourn the loss of a giant, U.S. Rep. John Lewis – a civil rights icon, American hero and one of the great leaders of our time.
 
Lewis led by example. Part of the country’s first generation of civil rights champions, he lived a life of righteousness and courage. He was a disciple of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and himself a high priest of nonviolence. He was a man of great conviction and integrity.
 
May his memory forever be a blessing and a guiding light for America.