What does Barack Obama think about Israel?

As Drew notes, many people have been asking: What does Barack Obama really think about Israel? On Sunday, Ralph Nader had this to say about the Illinois senator on Meet the Press:

He was pro-Palestinian when he was in Illinois before he ran for the state Senate, during he ran--during the state Senate.  Now he's, he's supporting the Israeli destruction of the tiny section called Gaza with a million and a half people. He doesn't have any sympathy for a civilian death ratio of about 300-to-1; 300 Palestinians to one Israeli. He's not taking a leadership position in supporting the Israeli peace movement...

In a speech not likely to assuage Citizen Ralph, Obama put forth his own views Sunday in a talk to Jewish voters in Cleveland, Ohio. His campaign sent the remarks to the New York Sun, which published them in full here. They're too long to adequately summarize, but here's New Republic Editor Marty Peretz, a staunch pro-Israel voice, with a qualified endorsement:

... Barack Obama's views on Israel and the possibilties of peace between it and the Palestinians are both tough-minded and deeply comprehending. I don't at all think that I'd be disappointed with an Obama presidency, and certainly not with his attitude towards the Jewish State. He is also not massaging Jewish audiences when he observes -- correctly -- that Israelis are, in general, far more various in their views on the security situation than American Jews or American Jewish organizations... [Obama's views on Israel] are not mine exactly. But they are enough like mine to let me sleep calmly.