GRAPEVINE

By DAVID ELLIS

The new, cooperative spirit between George Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has prompted some Democrats to worry about their domestic standing with Jewish voters. This time it's the Democrats who come off as "wimpy," says a Jewish Democratic activist.

The President won just 30% of the Jewish vote in 1988, but his decision to take on Iraq could bring him a much bigger share of that traditionally Democratic bloc in 1992. More important, Jewish Americans could start raising large sums of money for the Bush re-election effort.

With reporting by Sidney Urquhart