Anti-Israel Philadelphia teacher admits she lied about being Palestinian and black

Far-left anti-Israel groups cut ties with anti-Israel activist teacher after she was outed for having Jewish rather than Palestinian and black heritage.

By World Israel News Staff

A Philadelphia public school teacher and prominent anti-Israel activist has been booted from several anti-Israel groups after she admitted to falsely claiming Palestinian, Tunisian and black heritage for years.

Hannah Gann, a longtime educator at the Workshop School in West Philadelphia, publicly confessed to the deception in a series of social media posts after two activist organizations investigated her claims and confronted her about her identity.

“I lied about my identity and have been lying for years. I have no Palestinian or Tunisian heritage,” Gann wrote in an Instagram statement.

She described herself as “a white woman of significant privilege and wealth,” acknowledging that she had misled colleagues, friends and fellow activists about her family background.

Gann added that she has “Jewish heritage and Israeli settler family,” without elaborating on her family ties to Israel.

The revelations have prompted comparisons to Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP official who became embroiled in controversy in 2015 after it emerged that she was a white woman who had spent years identifying as Black.

Gann had been a prominent member of Philly Educators for Palestine and the Racial Justice Organizing Committee, participating in demonstrations, educational events and other activities related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Her claimed Palestinian background had become a significant part of her public identity. A biography accompanying a 2024 educational event about the destruction of schools in Gaza identified her as Palestinian American.

Gann also reportedly told fellow activists that her grandfather had been born in Palestine. An investigation conducted by local activists subsequently found historical records indicating that he had actually been born in Baltimore.

The investigation also uncovered information about Gann’s Jewish background and family connections to Israel, including relatives residing in Judea and Samaria.

The two activist organizations said they confronted Gann after questions arose about inconsistencies in her background.

According to their joint statement, she admitted to fabricating her identity following more than an hour of questioning.

The organizations said they were “stunned, saddened and angered by this betrayal” and announced that they were permanently severing ties with her.

They accused Gann of appropriating Palestinian and black identities, betraying the trust of fellow activists and exploiting relationships she had established while presenting herself as a member of the communities she claimed to represent.

Gann subsequently published a video apologizing for her conduct and acknowledging that she had concealed her actual background from virtually everyone in her life.

“I hid the truth or outright lied about my background to everyone in my life,” she said.

She maintained that her political advocacy had been sincere despite the deception and urged supporters not to abandon the causes she had promoted because of her actions.

The controversy has also drawn attention to Gann’s previous involvement in disputes over antisemitism in Philadelphia’s public school system.

In 2024, the conservative watchdog organization Accuracy in Media deployed a mobile billboard outside her school identifying her as Philadelphia’s leading antisemite.

Gann had also publicly criticized the handling of allegations of antisemitism in the school district, arguing that concerns about claims of anti-Palestinian racism and alleged incidents of discrimination against other minority groups were not receiving comparable attention.

The Philadelphia School District confirmed that it was aware of the controversy surrounding Gann and her involvement with an outside advocacy organization.

The district said it was making support available to affected students and staff at the Workshop School but declined to comment on whether Gann would face disciplinary action, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters.