A Philadelphia teacher, Hannah Gann, has admitted to fabricating her identity for years, falsely claiming Palestinian and Black heritage while working with Palestinian and racial justice organizations. Gann released a statement on Instagram, admitting she has no Palestinian or Tunisian heritage and describing herself as a "white woman of significant privilege and wealth." She acknowledged deceiving "everyone" in her life, including friends, colleagues, and family. The Racial Justice Organizing Committee (RJOC) and Philly Educators for Palestine (PEFP) announced over the weekend that they were cutting ties with Gann, who "completely lied about her identity and background, claiming at various times to be Palestinian, Tunisian and Black." Members of both organizations met with Gann and questioned her about her background. After over an hour of discussion, Gann "finally admitted she lied," the joint statement said, adding: "We asked her to publicly acknowledge that she is a white woman of Jewish heritage and an Israeli settler family. We will no longer work with Hannah, and she will no longer be welcome in any of our organizing spaces." Gann's admission came after a former University of Pennsylvania classmate told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Gann was known in college "as a self-proclaimed white Jewish woman with family in the occupied West Bank." The classmate noted that Gann "suddenly transformed" after returning from the Peace Corps in Rwanda, using makeup and fake tan to appear darker and speaking using African American Vernacular English. A Philadelphia Inquirer report said that the newspaper had obtained a copy of the Philly Palestine Coalition's report on Gann, which found that the grandfather she claimed was Palestinian-born was actually born in Baltimore. The report also indicated that Gann had family living in Israel. Another Philadelphia teacher, Keziah Ridgeway, posted a video saying Gann deceived her over their nearly decade-long friendship. Ridgeway said that when the two of them met around 2018, she had no awareness of Gann’s actual background — only that Gann was "speaking up for the Black community, for the Palestinian community." It was not until 2023, Ridgeway said, that Gann — after a trip she described as being to "Israel/Palestine" — told her she had Palestinian Jewish ancestry and Muslim relatives. Ridgeway later confronted Gann, who denied the allegations before offering more details — claiming her father’s father died when her father was 13 and that she’d been raised by a Palestinian Jewish woman. Ridgeway said Gann’s grandfather actually died when her father was 23. Gann addressed Ridgeway’s video in her own, saying, "Everything she said is true, and I fully corroborate." A spokesperson for the Philadelphia school district said the district was aware of social media posts concerning a district employee and her involvement with an outside advocacy organization. The district is making support available to The Workshop School staff and students, as needed. Gann's actions have drawn comparisons to Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP chapter president who pretended to be Black. Commenters on Gann’s original post dubbed her the "Palestinian Rachel Dolezal" and "Temu Rachel Dolezal." Gann said in her video that she still believed in the causes she supported, including the fight for justice and liberation for all oppressed peoples. She said she still believed that "theirs is the real story, and mine is just a sick, deluded distraction."