Publisher HarperCollins recently admitted that it has been selling atlases that intentionally don't show Israel as a country. The move was apparently made to appease those in countries where people wish Israel didn't actually exist. Citing "local preferences," HarperCollins said the Israel-less maps were "developed specifically for the Middle East," The Washington Post reported. The matter was first brought to light by a Catholic publication called The Tablet, the Post reported. It didn't take long for the company to issue a statement saying it regretted the omission, and announcing that the atlases would be pulled from shelves. "HarperCollins sincerely apologizes for this omission and for any offense it caused," the company said.Not the first timeThis was not the first time a publisher has wiped Israel off the map. Scholastic Inc. omitted the country in a children's book it published for students in the Middle East in 2013, the Post reported. That time, it was a mother in Jerusalem who noticed the discrepancy, and Scholastic issued an apology and stopped production of the book. Textbooks produced by countries in the Mideast often do not show Israel on maps, according to the Post.