Nearly a decade after Rachel Dolezal became the face of one of the most infamous identity scandals in recent American history, another white woman has found herself at the center of a very similar controversy in Philadelphia. Her name is Hannah Gann, a teacher and activist known for her work in local racial justice and pro-Palestinian organizing. According to The Guardian, she misrepresented herself as Black, Palestinian and Tunisian for years. Now, Hannah Gann is acknowledging that it was all a lie.
In an apology posted online, Gann described herself as a white woman of Jewish heritage. “I hid the truth or outright lied about my background to everyone in my life,” she said, also acknowledging the privilege attached to having presented herself as a member of communities whose experiences she did not actually share. Hannah Gann continued on Instagram: “The fact that I lied about who I was does not mean anyone else who speaks up for Palestine is lying and does not erase the urgency of listening to voices on the ground, voices who are courageously telling us about an ongoing genocide, even as the state of Israel deliberately targets journalists and others who are speaking the truth for extermination.”
The whole ordeal mirrors the notorious case of Rachel Dolezal. She became an NAACP chapter president in 2015 before being exposed for presenting herself as Black despite being fully white. The revelation sparked national debates over cultural appropriation and “ethnic fraud.” In 2026, Gann’s case is reigniting the same conversations again, this time with an added political dimension.
Gann wasn’t simply embellishing her family tree at Thanksgiving. Her claimed identities became intertwined with her public life as an educator and activist, particularly her involvement in racial justice organizing and the pro-Palestinian movement.
The controversy began after members of the Racial Justice Organizing Committee (RJOC) and Philly Educators for Palestine (PEFP) questioned Gann about her background. The organizations have since announced they’ve cut ties with her, saying her conduct damaged trust among Palestinians, Black people, organizers and young people.
“We will no longer work with Hannah, and she will no longer be welcome in any of our organizing spaces,” PEFP and RJOC wrote in a joint statement. “We recognize the profound harm this has caused: Palestinians whose identity and struggle were appropriated, the Black community, young people, organizers, and organizations whose trust and resources were exploited.”
Gann’s claimed Palestinian identity was closely connected to her activism around Israel and Palestine. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that she had publicly referred to Palestinian relatives and that people investigating her background found discrepancies between those claims and historical records.
In both Gann and Dolezal’s cases, the lines between solidarity and representation were blurred. Instead of advocating for a community, they presented an adopted identity as personal experience. When an activist presents themselves as part of a community they don’t belong to, it can have serious consequences for the actual members of that community and the movements they’re involved in.
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