An embarrassing and extraordinary scandal is roiling the pro-‘Palestinian’ activist community in the United States: Hannah Gunn, a veteran educator in the Philadelphia public school system and a prominent fixture in local anti-Israel campaigns who presented herself for years as a proud ‘Palestinian’, was unmasked this week for having completely fabricated her identity and heritage.
The catalyst behind the unraveling of the deception was not her political opponents, but rather her fellow pro-‘Palestinian’ activists. After confronting her for over an hour with a damning ledger of glaring inconsistencies, Gunn was forced to confess that she is, in reality, an affluent white woman of Jewish ancestry who possesses no ‘Palestinian’ or Tunisian lineage whatsoever.
Gunn, a tenth-grade teacher at The Workshop School and an active member of groups including Philly Educators for ‘Palestine’ and the Racial Justice Organizing Committee, has at various times styled herself as ‘Palestinian’, Tunisian, and Black. She was even formally presented as a “‘Palestinian’-American educator” during a 2024 educational panel addressing the war’s impact on schooling in Gaza.
Her prominent profile in local demonstrations previously made her a target of public criticism. In 2024, the watchdog organization Accuracy in Media stationed a mobile billboard truck outside her school displaying a massive photograph of Gunn wearing a keffiyeh alongside the caption: “Hannah Gunn: 10th Grade Teacher and Philadelphia’s Leading Antisemite.” However, the ground gave way beneath her when internal movement allies launched an inquiry into her background, ultimately demanding that she publicly acknowledge her Jewish lineage and family ties to Israel before formally excommunicating her from all activist spaces.
Findings from the internal inquiry published by The Philadelphia Inquirer revealed astonishing discrepancies. While Gunn had long peddled evocative narratives concerning a grandfather born in Mandatory ‘Palestine’, historical military draft registrations and naturalization records for her great-grandfather proved that the grandfather in question was born in Baltimore, Maryland—and that her family members residing outside the United States live in Israel.
Furthermore, the inquiry revealed that Gunn routinely told acquaintances she was enduring acute financial distress because she was sending financial aid to impoverished ‘Palestinian’ relatives overseas—a narrative that prompted empathetic peers to hand her personal cash donations. Gunn later conceded this was an outright fabrication, admitting she possesses substantial personal wealth.
Additional testimony from a former University of Pennsylvania peer further corroborated the elaborate fraud. The classmate recounted that during their collegiate years, Gunn was known simply as a white Jewish student with relatives in Judea and Samaria. The acquaintance noted that the dramatic transformation began after Gunn returned from a Peace Corps deployment to Rwanda, when she began deliberately darkening her skin tone through tanning and makeup while adopting speech cadences and mannerisms associated with the African American community.
Following the exposure, Gunn released both written and video confessions confirming the fraud. “I have hidden the truth or flat-out lied about my background to every person in my life,” she acknowledged on video, adding in an accompanying written statement: “I lied about my identity, and I have lied for years. I have no ‘Palestinian’ or Tunisian heritage.”
Gunn admitted that she kept the charade hidden even from her biological family. However, she claimed her political solidarity was sincere and pleaded with observers not to cast aspersions on fellow activists. Nevertheless, the organizations in which she operated issued scathing condemnations, expressing that they were “shocked, saddened, and angry,” and branding her actions an absolute betrayal of trust placed in her by ‘Palestinians’, Black communities, students, and organizers.
Background: From Anti-Israel Activist to “‘Palestinian’ Rachel Dolezal”
In recent years, Gunn consolidated a high-profile standing across Philadelphia activist circuits centered on ‘Palestinian’ advocacy. In 2024, she participated in prominent forums accusing Israel of destroying the educational ecosystem in Gaza. In December 2025, she appeared wrapped in a keffiyeh before the Philadelphia Board of Education, demanding that district authorities treat alleged anti-‘Palestinian’ racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Black racism with the same gravity accorded to antisemitism.
The bizarre revelations triggered viral mockery across social media, where commentators widely dubbed Gunn the “‘Palestinian’ Rachel Dolezal”—referencing the white activist who notoriously passed herself off as an African American woman for years. The School District of Philadelphia issued a statement acknowledging reports regarding its employee’s external activities, noting that support services are being made available to staff and students. As of publication, district officials have not announced whether Gunn will be formally terminated from her teaching post.
Photo: National Public Diplomacy Directorate
