A union leader at City College of San Francisco who called a Jewish instructor a “colonizer” in an expletive-laden rant at a board of trustees meeting violated harassment and workplace violence policies, an independent investigator hired by the college has concluded.
The results were announced Tuesday by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and StandWithUs, advocacy nonprofits that jointly represented instructor Abigail Bornstein. They described the outcome of the third-party investigation as precedent-setting for how universities address antisemitism because it provides guidance on navigating complex questions about speech and discrimination.
“The term ‘colonizer’ is offensive to Jewish people because it (1) holds all Jewish people accountable for the actions of the state of Israel; and (2) implies Jewish people have no right to exist in a specific area,” according to an excerpt from the investigation shared with J.
Bornstein was targeted by Maria Salazar-Colón, who mocked the instructor’s last name in the tirade during the board meeting on May 29, 2025. Salazar-Colón is president of the CCSF chapter of the Service Employees International Union Local 1021.
Bornstein, a computer networking and information technology instructor who has taught at the community college for 22 years, according to her LinkedIn profile, spoke several times during the eight-hour meeting, including during the public comment portion opposing a budget item that was backed by the union. Salazar-Colón, speaking at the meeting remotely, targeted Bornstein, who was in the room, just a few minutes later.
“I’m gonna tell you guys something,” Salazar-Colón began at 7 hours and 2 minutes into the meeting. “Well, actually, for that big mouth that is always in there. I really wish that that colonizer, Abigail Dumb-stine, would shut her damn mouth and not speak on SEIU items. We don’t need her permission when it comes to our negotiations, but as usual, she doesn’t have a clue and is dumber than a bag of rocks and has no place whatsoever in our damn business.”
“But she continues to have a fixation on stirring up her bulls**t when it comes to SEIU,” Salazar-Colón added. “Maybe she should go do math, or maybe shut the f**k up. She needs to go focus on faculty. I’m sick of her s**t. Shut the f**k up, Abigail.”
“President Martinez,” trustee Aliya Chisti cut in, addressing then-board president Anita Martinez. “We need to make sure we are mindful of the comments that are being made.”
“I’m going to make whatever comments I want because I’m tired of it,” Salazar-Colón replied. “So, until you guys put her in her place or someone has a conversation with her, don’t tell me how to speak. Goodbye!”
Bornstein told J. in an email that the comments were “very difficult to sit through.”
“When I heard the language used, I immediately understood it as directed at me in a deeply personal and hostile way,” she said.
Salazar-Colón reportedly sent Bornstein an email after the remarks, while the meeting was still in session, that said in capital letters, according to the San Francisco Chronicle: “YOU LACK THE POWER TO STOP OR CONTROL SEIU, AND YOU NEVER WILL! ACCEPT THAT, COLONIZER!”
Bornstein, who filed complaints with campus authorities and outside law enforcement, said she feared for her safety after the incident and ended up canceling all of her in-person teaching.
“I had trouble sleeping and found myself replaying what had happened,” she said.
The CCSF investigation concluded that the conduct constituted harassment and discrimination under college policies “prohibiting discrimination, harassment, and workplace violence,” and it emphasized that terms like “colonizer,” in this context, functioned as attacks on Bornstein’s Jewish identity and national origin, Bornstein’s legal team said in a press release.
Salazar-Colón claimed she was unaware of Bornstein’s identity, a claim the investigation found not credible, according to an excerpt shared with J.
Deena Margolies, a civil rights attorney with the Brandeis Center, said Bornstein was “recognizably Jewish” since she was wearing a chai symbol during the meeting and had openly discussed losing family members in the Holocaust. The report also stated that Bornstein had previously voiced support for Israel and that Salazar-Colón may have attended two dozen board meetings with her previously.
“Maria Salazar-Colón knew she was Jewish,” Margolies said. “This was not like a work-based dispute or union activity or political comments. She was in fact harassing her based on her Jewish identity.”
Salazar-Colón, who works in CCSF’s Office of Student Affairs, according to the college website, is also named as SEIU 1021’s “education industry chair.” The union represents more than 60,000 employees throughout Northern California. The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CCSF will pursue disciplinary action for Salazar-Colón, according to StandWithUs and the Brandeis Center, although possible consequences were not named. In February, Salazar-Colón filed an appeal of the findings but was not successful, Bornstein’s lawyers said.
The full report from the investigator has not been released by the college or the advocacy groups representing Bornstein.
StandWithUs and the Brandeis Center said the findings are likely to influence how colleges nationwide evaluate antisemitism complaints, particularly those involving language connected to Israel or Zionism.
“Discriminatory treatment — even when expressed through speech — can be unlawful when it targets a protected identity,” said Deedee Bitran, senior counsel at StandWithUs Saidoff Law, the organization’s legal advocacy group, in a statement. “This investigation confirms that mocking a Jewish employee or labeling them in ways tied to identity can rise to actionable harassment.”
Bornstein welcomed the findings, saying she is “grateful that the college recognized the conduct for what it was” but hopes to “see a clear acknowledgment by the board of trustees of what occurred as antisemitic” and a continued commitment to preventing and addressing antisemitism and similar forms of harassment.
Salazar-Colón did not respond to J.’s request for comment, but emailed the San Francisco Chronicle: “NO COMMENT! I have boundaries, privacy and safety concerns!” She added, “DO NOT EVER CONTACT ME AGAIN.”