(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Rachel Dolezal, the white woman who for years presented herself as a black woman, has competition, this time from another white woman who claimed Palestinian heritage as part of her years-long anti-Israel activism.
Hannah Gann, a Philadelphia teacher and leftist activist, took to social media to admit that she had been claiming Palestinian or Tunisian heritage and to apologize for misleading her supporters.
“I lied about my identity and have been lying for years. I have no Palestinian or Tunisian heritage. I am a white woman of significant privilege and wealth,” Gann wrote Friday in an Instagram post seen by Headline USA.
“Anyone who supported me was manipulated and should not be judged as a result of their support for me,” Gann added.
In separate posts, Gann addressed the matter but never explained what prompted her to present herself as a Middle Eastern woman.
“Maybe one day I will make a video explaining what was going through my mind,” she continued.
She's being called the "Palestinian Rachel Dolezal" online after admitting she lied about being Palestinian and Black.
Philadelphia teacher and anti-Israel activist Hannah Gann now says she is "a White woman of significant privilege and wealth" after fellow activists questioned… pic.twitter.com/IsHTJI5kkZ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 24, 2026
Gann had become a prominent figure in Philadelphia’s leftist circles, often participating in public forums, marches and other pro-Palestinian protests and events targeting Israel.
She publicly appeared sporting a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian scarf that has become a symbol of protest against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
As reported by several news outlets, Gann’s claims about her heritage came to light after colleagues began noticing discrepancies about her background. At times, she even claimed that she was black.
The Racial Justice Organizing Committee and Philly Educators for Palestine, two advocacy groups associated with Gann, investigated her background and determined that her grandfather was born in Baltimore rather than “Palestine.”
Gann ultimately admitted the deception to the groups when pressed during behind-closed-doors meetings.
The scandal drew parallels to Dolezal, with critics calling Gann the “new Rachel Dolezal.” The comparison stems from the 2015 controversy in which Dolezal was exposed as a white woman claiming to be a black woman.
Dolezal had been the president of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP. Her parents, both white, said the family had no black ancestry or heritage.
Dolezal has since described herself as transracial, arguing that her identity as a black woman is comparable in some respects to transgender identity.
After the controversy, Dolezal turned to art and adult entertainment.
Dolezal weighed in on the Gann scandal via X, claiming that members of the Israel Defense Forces have dressed as “Palestinians to push protests toward violence and other disruption tactics.”
About the #philly story with Hannah Gann today, I think there’s a difference between an identity you can apologize your way out of and a core self you literally don’t know how to stop being. There are recently documented IDF operatives (Musta’ribeen) who dress as Palestinians to… pic.twitter.com/Bt2ghd6sKQ
— Rachel Doležal (@DialloNkechi) September 24, 2026
