New Voorhees school board member resigns over controversy related to Facebook posts that referred to Gaza as ‘a death camp’

A newly elected member of the Voorhees Township school board resigned Wednesday following mounting calls for her ouster over social media posts shared by her husband that referred to Gaza as a “death camp” and described Israel as a “terrorist nation.”

Less than 90 minutes after being sworn in, Naveen Khan told a room packed with critics offended by the posts that she would step down and immediately end her term on the nine-member board in Camden County.

“People are right. I think it’s best that I resign,” Khan said following a lengthy defense in which she denied supporting or liking the posts, which were published by her husband, John Dzivak, on his Facebook page. “This isn’t the community I want to be in.”

Khan raised concerns about what she described as “attempts to blur the clear line between political critique and religious prejudice.”

“It is crucial for us as a community to understand the legitimate critique of a state’s policy … is a healthy part of political debate ... and it is fundamentally different than antisemitic rhetoric, which targets and vilifies Jewish people as a group,” Khan said. “Such misrepresentations trivialize the seriousness of actual antisemitic incidents.”

Khan is the latest in a series of local school board officials to resign after facing controversy over social media posts that accuse Israel of carrying out a “genocide” against Palestinians following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.

The board member’s resignation, which took the crowd by surprise, came after months of outcry over the posts, which were published in October. The social media messages were later deleted but not before screenshots showing her liking one of them were shared and criticized as antisemitic. Khan has said that she didn’t see or respond to any of Israel-related posts shared by her husband.

One post shared by Dzivak said that “Israel is intent on wiping out Gaza” and “Our sociopathic leaders should be put on trial for supporting Israel’s genocide.”

Another post shared by Dzivak drew a distinction between Zionism, the belief that Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people that is shared by many Christians as well as many Jews, and Judaism. “We are against Zionism. Judaism is not Zionism,” the post from an account called TorahJudaism said. Khan liked the post, according to a screenshot.

Cantor Scott Borsky, chaplain for the Voorhees Police Department, described the social media messages as “vile and disgusting” and called for Khan to resign at Wednesday’s meeting. Borsky cited Psalm 133, a biblical song about unity, and said Khan would have caused divisiveness on the board.

Mayor Michael Mignogna withdrew his endorsement of Khan in October in a social media post.

“I stand with Israel and our Jewish Community,” the mayor wrote.

Crystal Munion, the campaign manager for Khan’s slate, said she, too, rescinded her support after seeing the posts and said helping Khan win the office was among her biggest regrets.

“She is unfit to serve this community in any capacity, but especially as a member of the board of education,” Munion said. “She has repeatedly demonstrated a profound lack of judgment.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, Khan said her family, including her child, have been threatened and seen windows in their home broken. They fear for their safety, she said before telling the crowd she was stepping down. .

“Is that a formal resignation?” the board solicitor asked.

Khan replied yes and her term ended a few minutes later when the meeting adjourned. The board has 60 days to name a replacement to fill her three-year term.

In an interview Thursday night, Khan said she had not planned to resign, but did so after her colleagues on the board didn’t defend her and allowed members of the public to criticize her. She declined comment on whether she believed that the posts by her husband were antisemitic.

“I’ve been harassed every day for three months,” Khan said. “It’s been horrific and traumatizing.”

Before the resignation, Khan’s husband defended the posts made on his private Facebook page. He said his wife “didn’t post anything, nothing.”

“This is America. You can criticize our own government and foreign governments,” Dzivak said.

Borsky left the meeting before Khan’s announcement. He said he was “astounded” when his phone began blowing up with text messages announcing the resignation.

“It’s certainly a positive turn of events,” Borsky said Thursday. “I was stunned.”

Since Oct. 7, at least two school board members in the Philadelphia region, one in the Colonial School District and another in Upper Dublin School District, resigned over posts criticized as antisemitic.

» READ MORE: A new Central Bucks School Board met, but sharp divisions persist: ‘This room has been filled with hate’

In Voorhees, the Facebook posts came to light a few weeks before the election and after many mail-in ballots were sent.

This article has been updated with comments from Naveen Khan and additional information about the Facebook posts in question.