LA Times cancels Kamala Harris endorsement due to war on Gaza, owner's daughter says

The daughter of the owner of the Los Angeles Times said that the newspaper's cancellation of its planned endorsement of Kamala Harris in the lead up to the US Presidential elections was due to her stance on Israel’s war on Gaza.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, the newspaper’s owner, vetoed the planned endorsement, informing board members through an intermediary that the LA Times would not make a recommendation in the presidential race.

According to the New York Times, following the decision, thousands of readers cancelled their subscriptions, and three members of the editorial board resigned.

An additional almost 200 staff members signed an open letter to management, calling for an explanation and stating that the decision could undermine the outlet’s trust with readers.

The paper posted multiple statements on social media and in interviews, with the decision being framed as an attempt at being neutral in the elections.

Nika Soon-Shiong, the owner’s 31-year-old daughter who has been described as a progressive political activist, said the decision was motivated by Harris’s continued support for Israel amidst its deadly war on Gaza.

"Our family made the joint decision not to endorse a presidential candidate. This was the first and only time I have been involved in the process," Nika Soon-Shiong, who has no formal role at the paper, said in a statement to The New York Times. 

"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 continued.

However, Patrick Soon-Shiong later made a statement clarifying that his daughter did not speak for the paper.

"Nika speaks in her own personal capacity regarding her opinion, as every community member has the right to do," the owner 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" he continued.

Mariel Garza, the head of editorials, resigned on Tuesday, after publishing a statement  claiming that if the endorsement was dropped due to Soon-Shiong’s daughters opinion, than this was not something that was communicated to her or other editorial writers.

"If the family’s goal was to ‘repudiate justifications for the widespread targeting of journalists and ongoing war on children,’ remaining silent did not accomplish that," she said.

Harris has reiterated her support for Israel several times in recent months, amidst Israel’s indiscriminate war on Gaza, which has so far killed nearly 43,000 Palestinians and completely devastated the enclave.

In August, during the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris's acceptance speech for the Democrat nomination saw her re-asserted Israel's "right to exist".

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference earlier in 2024, Harris also reaffirmed the US commitment to Israel's security and what she called its "right to self-defence", and called for the immediate release of Israeli captives held in Gaza by Hamas.

While Harris has called for a ceasefire on several occasions, more recently, she has denied that she considers Israel’s war on Gaza as a genocide, after appearing to back this view in a speech earlier this month.

Harris is still believed to be slightly more critical of Israeli actions in Lebanon and Gaza than Biden, although few expect a major policy shift if she enters the White House in January.

Her challenger Donald Trump is considered to be the more pro-Israel out of the two main presidential candidates having moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognising Israel's annexation of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights when he served as president.