Hannah Gann
Philadelphia Jewish woman admits faking Palestinian roots
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Philadelphia teacher and pro-Palestinian activist Hannah Gann admits fabricating parts of her racial and family background.
- Gann acknowledges falsely claiming Palestinian, Tunisian and Black heritage and says she is a white woman of Jewish heritage.
A Philadelphia teacher and longtime pro-Palestinian activist has admitted to lying for years about her racial and family background, including falsely claiming Palestinian, Tunisian and Black heritage.
Hannah Gann, a social studies teacher at Philadelphia’s Workshop School, acknowledged the deception after members of two activist organizations confronted her about inconsistencies in her background.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Gann said she had “lied about my identity” for years and acknowledged that she has no Palestinian or Tunisian heritage. She described herself as “a white woman of significant privilege and wealth” and said she had concealed the truth from friends, colleagues, organizers and family members.
View this post on Instagram
Gann had been active in Philadelphia’s pro-Palestinian and racial justice movements. She was involved with Philly Educators for Palestine and the Racial Justice Organizing Committee and had appeared publicly at events addressing the war in Gaza and Palestinian rights.
She also became a prominent supporter of fellow Philadelphia teacher Keziah Ridgeway, who faced disciplinary action from the school district over pro-Palestinian social media posts.
The two organizations said they met with Gann and questioned her about her background. After more than an hour, they said, she admitted that she had lied. They said Gann acknowledged that she is a white woman of Jewish heritage and comes from an ‘Israeli’ settler family.
The organizations subsequently cut ties with her, saying the deception had caused harm to Palestinians, members of the Black community, young people and organizers who had trusted her.
Questions about Gann’s background had also emerged from research compiled by the Philly Palestine Coalition. According to documents reviewed by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Gann had repeatedly referred to Palestinian relatives, including a grandfather she said was born in Palestine. The coalition found records indicating that the grandfather was actually born in Baltimore.
A former University of Pennsylvania classmate also told the Inquirer that Gann had presented herself during college as a white Jewish woman with family connections to the occupied West Bank.
Gann said she recognizes the damage caused by her actions but maintained that her support for the causes she had advocated for was genuine.
“The fact that I lied about who I was does not mean anyone else who speaks up for Palestine is lying,” she said in a video statement, arguing that her actions should not undermine Palestinian voices or the causes she had supported.
Her case has drawn comparisons online to Rachel Dolezal, a former NAACP leader whose claims of Black identity came under scrutiny in 2015 after her white parentage became public.
The Philadelphia School District has acknowledged social media posts concerning Gann and her involvement with an outside advocacy organization. A district spokesperson said the school was making support available to staff and students but declined to comment on personnel matters.
