Activist Dubbed 'Philadelphia's Leading Antisemite' Exposed as White Jewish Woman
Hannah Gann, who advocated for Palestinian causes and was recently revealed to be white and Jewish, had previously been targeted by a billboard campaign calling her an antisemite.
An activist who identified as Black and Palestinian has been revealed to be a white Jewish woman, drawing renewed attention to her past involvement in anti-Israel protests. Hannah Gann, who had been a prominent figure in Philadelphia's activist circles, was previously labeled “Philadelphia’s leading antisemite” by the watchdog group Accuracy in Media.
In 2024, Accuracy in Media displayed a billboard on a box truck circulating Gann's neighborhood and outside her workplace, calling her a "10th grade teacher and Philadelphia’s leading antisemite." The group posted about the campaign on X, formerly Twitter, stating they were informing Gann's neighbors.
The campaign followed Gann's participation in a protest outside a Jewish bakery, which Canary Mission described as a "pro-Hamas rally." During the rally, held in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks, Gann stated, “I know every martyr’s life is precious.” She also added, “When a Palestinian child picks of a rock or a slingshot in the face of Israeli tanks or machine guns, we owe them that same energy.” Gann was also heard shouting, “We owe it to resist and disrupt with everything we have.”
Gann's activism and self-identification came under scrutiny after the Philadelphia Inquirer reported her true background. Gann has since issued an apology on social media, admitting to lying about her identity for years. "I lied about my identity and have been lying for years. I have no Palestinian or Tunisian heritage," she stated in a video.
Gann had reportedly used makeup to darken her complexion and adopted accents to portray herself as a person of color. She was exposed as the daughter of wealthy parents with family ties to Israel, contradicting her public persona and activism. Gann's years-long deception has drawn comparisons to Rachel Dolezal, a former NAACP chapter president who was also exposed for falsely claiming to be Black.