Israel? What Israel?

What's wrong with this map?

If I remember my geography, Israel ought to be in there somewhere.

Of course, maps like this are hanging on classroom walls all over the Arab world -- but this one was hanging on a wall at a UN conference attended by Kofi Annan.

It's times like this when it's nice to have a gu y like John Bolton hanging around. The Jerusalem Post quotes him:

"It was entirely inappropriate for this map to be used. It can be misconstrued to suggest that the United Nations tacitly supports the abolition of the state of Israel. Given that we now have a world leader pursuing nuclear weapons who is calling for the state of Israel to be 'wiped off the map,' the issue has even greater salience."

The UN's response? Oh, the decision was made by a committee, not by Annan himself.

It sounds like the response was written by committee.