Israel, Gaza and the filming of a US blockbuster at Skellig

national | anti-capitalism | press release Tuesday August 05, 2014 14:09 by Campaign for Skellig

The filming of scenes for Star Wars: Episode VII began yesterday on Skellig Michael in Co Kerry. Many have expressed outrage at the underhanded way in which this information was kept from the Irish public until a few days ago. The Irish Independent has learnt that when negotiations began over six months ago it was feared if news of the proposed filming leaked out it could attract opposition from conservation groups. Also, At a time when Gaza is suffering a genocide at the hands of the Israeli government, the Irish government has underhandedly permitted Disney, (a company which is on every boycott list of companies which support Israel), who acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.05 billion (wiki), to come into Ireland and film on one of our most sacred and ancient sites.

The filming of scenes for Star Wars: Episode VII began yesterday on Skellig Michael in Co Kerry. Many have expressed outrage at the underhanded way in which this information was kept from the Irish public until a few days ago. The Irish Independent has learnt that when negotiations began over six months ago it was feared if news of the proposed filming leaked out it could attract opposition from conservation groups.

Environmental Concerns

Unesco has expressed concern over the authorisation for filming of scenes for the movie. The Island in the Atlantic about 12km off the coast of south Kerry was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1996 because of the ruins of its monastic settlement that date back to the 6th Century. The island is also the natural habitat for bird species including the puffin, manx shearwaters and petrels and was designated a Special Protection Area under Article 4 of the EU Birds Directive. Unesco‚s Word Heritage Centre has made inquiries about State authorisation for use of Skellig Michael, and a film-set spokesman has confirmed that the international body has asked the National Monuments Service for „information on the filming permission‰. Both Birdwatch Ireland and independent archaeologist Michael Gibbons have expressed concern about the impact of a film crew on the fragile environment.

According to Unesco the National Monuments Service has informed them that they were „examining the issue‰ and said a report would be submitted to Unesco „later this week‰ ˆ by which time filming is expected to be over.

The Irish Film Board said the filming programme „has been designed specifically to avoid disturbance of breeding birds on the island‰. However, Birdwatch Ireland‚s Senior Conservation Officer for seabirds, Steven Newton, said he did not envision how this could be possible in the middle of the breeding season for thousands of pairs of puffins, Manx shearwaters and the tiny storm petrels which use underground burrows for nesting sites.
Birdwatch Ireland intends to pursue the matter with the European Commission, and said it would like to see the screening report produced by consultants ahead of filming which would have informed NPWS authorization.

The Irish People Strongly Object To The Israeli Slaughter of the Palestinian People

At a time when Gaza is suffering a genocide at the hands of the Israeli government, the Irish government has underhandedly permitted Disney, (a company which is on every boycott list of companies which support Israel), who acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.05 billion (wiki), to come into Ireland and film on one of our most sacred and ancient sites. The Irish government is aware that there is huge opposition to the genocide in Gaza and that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan has been urged by Cork County Council to summon the Israeli ambassador to Iveagh House to convey the outrage of the Irish people at the response of the Israeli defence forces to events in the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month Dublin City Council passed a motion calling for an end to both the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and the Israeili illegal siege of the coastal strip, as well as calling upon the irish government to push for an arms embargo and trade sanctions on Israel.

An online petition to expel the Israeli ambassador has already reached 22,433 signers and is rising rapidly. If anyone takes the time to view the petition online you will see that there are people currently signing the petition every few seconds.

The Ley Lines

There is a belief among many people, that Skellig Michael, is a very spiritual place situated as it is at the beginning of an energetic leyline. In fact, Skellig Michael is considered one of the key lines in the Saint Michael leyline which extends from Ireland, through Britain and across Europe where it then forks into ancient Judea, Israel and Egypt, and connects to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Saint Michael ley line runs across Ireland for several hundred miles, intersecting with various sacred sites in the UK that have been dedicated to Saint Michael. The Saint Michael ley line intersects with another significant ley line at the Skellig Michael monastery and this second ley line goes on to connect to Saint Michael‚s Mount in England, to Mont Saint Michel in France and so on. But what is most interesting is that it comes to an end in Israel, at Mount Carmel, where Jesus is alleged by some to have lived among the order of the Essenes.

Because of Skellig Michael‚s strategic spiritual location many are worried that there is a nefarious purpose to the presence of a Disney backed film being made on the Island, as Disney is known to be a collaborator with the Israeli government and the Zionist movement.

Paranormal investigator, Veronica Keen of the Montague Keen Foundation has expressed her deep concern that there is some sinister purpose behind the filming on Skellig Michael where a 3km exclusion zone, ministerially approved, is in force around Skellig for the three days of filming, with a naval patrol vessel present and all locals involved in the project are believed to have signed confidentiality agreements for the duration of the film shoot.

Unfortunately, the locals in the area surrounding Skeilig Michael who one would think would be keen to preserve their ancient heritage, seem to have been bought off. Yesterday morning, a film crew and workers employed to help out with the production were being transported to the island by local boatmen from Portmagee who have already received •1,000 each for projected loss of earnings from tourist trips during filming. Unesco has voiced their concern on several occasions about the lack of co-operation of the local boatmen. The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies are concerned about the lack of progress in implementing the recommendations of the 2007 Advisory Mission. The recommendations were pertinent in terms of addressing the key issues: approaches to conservation of the site and disputes with local boatmen. Access to the island is strictly controlled by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in view of its historical and conservation status and each of the licenced
14 boats are only allowed land passengers once a day. Last year, 13,221 people visited the island.

Locals may be under the impression that this Œboom‚ will be great for their area but they are very short-sighted as the current tourism to Skellig Michael is not one based on the Hollywood industry, but on the spiritual nature of the island. It is quite likely that once the film is released Skellig Michael will be turned into a type of Disneyland centre for those who wish to visit the island on which the Star Wars movie scene was filmed. This can only be detrimental to the sacred essence of Skellig Michael and to the memory of the ancient Irish monks who lived and prayed there over 1400 years ago. Perhaps that is what the locals are hoping for. but is that really what the people of Ireland want for one of our most unique, sacred and ancient sites? We are calling on everyone who thinks that this was an underhanded and unbelievably sneaky move by our government, to come to Skellig Michael and to protest strongly about this undertaking.

We are looking for volunteers to help us to co-ordinate this vital campaign. We are running out of time. The underhand tactics of our government have ensured this.

Please lend your support to this campaign.

For further information please contact
Emily Twomey [email protected]
Veronica keen [email protected]
Jean Haines [email protected]

Sources:
[1] The Irish Independent http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/fears-for-bir....html
[2] The Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/filming-of-s...80923
[3] The Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/filming-of-s...80923
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/minis...81513
[7] The Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign http://www.ipsc.ie/press-releases/dublin-city-council-m...srael
[8] Avaaz Petitionhttps://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/An_Taoiseach_Enda_...iebon
[9] The Awakening https://hiddenlighthouse.wordpress.com/tag/skellig-michael/
[10] L.A. Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/19/opinion/oe-stein19
[11] Dr. Kevin Barrett, Editor, Veterans Todayhttp://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/02/19/zio-celeb/
[12] Veterans Today http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/10/04/zionist-hollywood/
[13] The Montague Keen Foundation http://www.montaguekeen.com/
[14] Irish Examiner http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/blockade-in-force-....html
[15] ibid
[16] Irish Independent http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/fears-for-bir....html