‘I hid the truth’: Philadelphia teacher admits fabricating Black and Palestinian identity

The educator said she “outright lied” about her background, while organizations she worked with say her actions exploited the trust of Black and Palestinian communities.

A Philadelphia public school teacher who built a years-long public profile as a Black and Palestinian activist has admitted that she fabricated her identity, prompting organizations that once worked alongside her to cut ties and denounce what they call a profound betrayal.

According to The Guardian’s reporting, Hannah Gann, a teacher at Philadelphia’s Workshop School, acknowledged in an Instagram video that she “hid the truth or outright lied” about her background to nearly everyone in her life.

“I hid the truth or outright lied about my background to everyone in my life,” Gann said in the apology, which followed confrontations with organizers who questioned her claims.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hannah Gann (@ms.gann.on.the.gram)

The admission came after Philly Educators for Palestine and the Racial Justice Organizing Committee announced they had severed ties with Gann after concluding she had falsely claimed at various times to be Palestinian, Tunisian and Black, according to The Guardian’s report.

In a joint statement, the organizations said members met with Gann for more than an hour before she admitted she had lied. “We asked her to publicly acknowledge that she is a white woman of Jewish heritage and an Israeli settler family,” read the statement in part.

“We are stunned, saddened and angered by this betrayal,” the groups said, adding that “Palestinians whose identity and struggle were appropriated, the Black community, young people, organizers, and organizations whose trust and resources were exploited” were harmed by her deception.

The controversy has rippled through Philadelphia’s activist community because Gann had become a visible organizer over the years, speaking at pro-Palestinian teach-ins and publicly advocating for educators involved in Palestine solidarity efforts.

As The Guardian reported and PhillyVoice corroborated, Gann had repeatedly referenced alleged Palestinian relatives, including claiming her grandfather was born in Palestine. Records reviewed by organizers reportedly showed that relative was actually born in Baltimore.

Gann insisted her deception should not undermine the broader movement she supported.

“The fact that I lied about who I was does not mean anyone else who speaks up for Palestine is lying,” she said.

The School District of Philadelphia said it is aware of the social media posts concerning Gann’s involvement with outside advocacy groups and is making support available to staff and students at the Workshop School, though it has not announced any disciplinary action.

For many organizers, however, the issue has become less about one individual’s deception than the lasting damage they say it caused to communities whose lived experiences were falsely claimed as someone else’s own.