On Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama came to New York for a series of events – including a meeting with prominent Jewish activists and leadership.

The Senator’s most public meeting was his interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show . Prior to that appearance, Obama met privately with a roomful of leading Jewish New Yorkers including Orthodox Union president Steve Savitsky and the current and immediate past chair of the Conference of Presidents of American Jewish Organizations. The meeting was, we’re told, an opportunity for Sen. Obama to informally and directly discuss his views with regard to U.S. policy toward Israel and the Mideast more broadly.

One “newsy” point to report is that Obama apparently said that his principal adviser on Israeli-Arab issues is veteran diplomat Dennis Ross.