Age gap divides Middle Eastern voters

On Main Avenue in South Paterson late Tuesday afternoon, about a dozen older Middle Eastern men were overwhelmingly pro-Hillary. They cited her experience.  But the age gap showed here with many younger men of Middle Eastern descent in favor of Obama.

Mehmet Teke, 54, who works as a cook and sculptor, said Hillary learned a lot from her experience in the White House with Bill. "You get two for one," he said.

Gas station owner, Mohd Alzubi, 36, who is from Jordan, agreed that Hillary has great experience, but he also v0ted for her because she wants to revamp the health care system.

"I have three kids and I don't have health insurance. God knows how much I pay in bills," he said. Alzubi added that his infant needs a routine shot that costs $150 each time.

He doesn't buy the hype surrounding Obama. "He's not going to make all of those changes with the snap of a finger."

A group of younger men, in contrast,  mainly supported Obama. "Hillary is just Bill Clinton - a female version," said Emad Jubran, 25.  "Obama -  he's black. We like his views and he's more hip."

As I left Salah Edin, a restaurant in Paterson, I was chased down the street by Ali Huda, 21, from Jersey City. He said he is going to vote for Ron Paul because he said he believes Paul wants to reduce the flow of American aid to Israel.

He is a registered independent.  "Ron Paul, he's the only candidate that's anti-Israeli dependency on America," said Huda, wearing a black hoodie sweatshirt with a blue football jersey on top.

--Karen Keller