LA Times owner’s daughter says Harris’s Israel support is why paper hasn’t endorsed her
Patrick Soon-Shiong swiftly rejects claim by daughter Nika that family sought to ‘repudiate justifications for widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children’
The daughter of the Los Angeles Times owner has claimed her father blocked the newspaper from backing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris over her support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong swiftly rejected the notion, pointing out that his daughter Nika has no official position at the publication and her views are her own, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Last week Patrick Soon-Shiong stopped the paper’s editorial board from publishing a prepared endorsement for Harris, the vice president, while saying he wanted readers to decide for themselves. The move prompted a slew of resignations from the editorial board as well as calls from staff for Soon-Shiong to be more transparent about why the paper was not endorsing a candidate.
Nika Soon-Shiong, described by the NY Times as “a progressive political activist,” has in the past faced criticism for trying to involve herself in the LA Times news coverage despite having no position at the paper.
In a statement to the NY Times, she said the decision to not endorse a candidate was made by her family.
“As a citizen of a country openly financing genocide, and as a family that experienced South African Apartheid, the endorsement was an opportunity to repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children,” she said. “For the sake of the living and in the name of the dead, for the sake of our collective humanity — we must raise the moral floor.”
‼️ Nika Soon-Shiong, whose family owns the @latimes, confirms the decision not to endorse a candidate was made bc of @KamalaHarris’ support for genocide in Gaza.
“Our family made the joint decision not to endorse a Presidential candidate. This was the first and only time I have… pic.twitter.com/dqxFZ1fqgd
— AHMED | أحمد (@ASE) October 26, 2024
However, a spokesperson for the elder Soon-Shiong said his daughter speaks only for herself.
“Nika speaks in her own personal capacity regarding her opinion, as every community member has the right to do,” the spokesperson said. “She does not have any role at The LA Times, nor does she participate in any decision or discussion with the editorial board, as has been made clear many times.”
The war in Gaza erupted on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on Israel in which terrorists killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 251 people as hostages to Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign to destroy Hamas and save the hostages.
Patrick Soon-Shiong told the LA Times in a Friday interview that the Gaza war was not a factor in his decision despite his daughter’s claims.
Mariel Garza, editorial page editor at the LA Times who resigned Tuesday over the blocked endorsement, said that if Gaza was the issue, owner Soon-Shiong should say so.
“If that was the reason that Dr. Soon-Shiong blocked an endorsement of Kamala Harris, it was not communicated to me or the editorial writers,” she said in a statement. Remaining silent on which presidential candidate to back, as claimed by Nika, in order to “repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and the ongoing war on children,” had failed, she added.
Karin Klein, another editorial board member who resigned on Thursday, agreed.
“If there’s an explanation, he should say so,” Klein told the NY Times. “When you have a gap in information like this, the tendency among readers is to fill it in. Is this his daughter expressing opposition on Gaza? Is he hoping Trump will lower his taxes? Does he have pharmaceuticals pending before the FDA and he’s worried about approval from a Trump administration? He should tell people.”
On Friday Nika, whose social media account on X features a Palestinian flag next to her name, posted a series of messages about the topic.
“This is not a vote for Donald Trump. This is a refusal to ENDORSE a candidate that is overseeing a war on children,” she wrote.
“I’m proud of the LA Times’ decision just as I am certain there is no such thing as children of darkness. There is no such thing as human animals,” she added.
This is not a vote for Donald Trump. This is a refusal to ENDORSE a candidate that is overseeing a war on children. I’m proud of the LA Times’ decision just as I am certain there is no such thing as children of darkness. There is no such thing as human animals.
— Nika Soon-Shiong ???????? (@nikasoonshiong) October 25, 2024
In another post, Nika wrote: “There is a lot of controversy and confusion over the LAT’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate. I trust the Editorial Board’s judgment. For me, genocide is the line in the sand.”
On November 1, 2023, just three weeks after the Hamas massacre and days after Israel had begun a major ground operation in Gaza, Nika posted on X:
“It’s not journalistic malpractice to describe the state of Israel as an Apartheid state. This is well-established in international law. It’s the legal term for unlawful ‘killing, torture, forcible transfer and denial of basic rights.'”
Israel and its supporters reject apartheid accusations, noting that while Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza are not Israeli citizens, Arab Israelis enjoy equal rights to their Jewish fellow citizens.
Harris has struggled to find a balance to satisfy Muslim voters who criticize her for backing Israel’s right to defend itself, and some Jewish voters who see her and the Biden administration as being too critical of Israel’s operations in Gaza.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 42,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
