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NEW YORK — The recent Palestinian violence and the resulting U.S. State Department advisory against travel to Israel is causing many American colleges to rethink their support for study in Israel.

That issue came to the fore this month as George Washington University first decided not to give credit to students studying abroad at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, then quickly reversed course under pressure.

Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania also considered denying credit for study at Israeli universities. Ultimately they dropped their plans following complaints from Jewish groups on campus.

The wrangling comes as the number of American students planning to study in Israel next semester is decreasing.

On the West Coast, the 23-campus California State University system canceled its program with Hebrew University in October, leaving 11 students who already had signed housing contracts for the semester to face the loss of academic credit and tuition subsidies.

Nine of the students nevertheless decided to stay in Israel.

The wrangling comes as the number of American students planning to study in Israel next semester is decreasing.

Officials at Tel Aviv and Hebrew universities both acknowledged that applications were significantly down for the spring semester, though neither would disclose details. Most students enrolled for the current semester chose to remain in Israel despite the current unrest, both schools said.

Israel is the most popular destination for American Jews studying abroad, and approximately 3,300 American students studied in Israel during the 1998-99 school year, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Approximately 450 Americans are now enrolled at Hebrew University, whose program for overseas students is the largest in Israel.

The policy at George Washington, a private university in Washington, was unusual in that it specifically denied credit from Hebrew University. This is because Hebrew University's Mount Scopus campus is in eastern Jerusalem, an area singled out for special caution in the travel advisory, university officials said.

Beyond its geographical connotations, "East Jerusalem" generally refers to areas of the city that were under Jordanian control until the Six-Day War in 1967, and which the Palestinians seek to make the capital of their own state. The area has a large Arab population.

Israeli officials and American Jewish leaders argue that Mount Scopus has been an Israeli enclave since 1948, and is safe. Their discussions with George Washington University officials led the university to reverse its policy.

The school will continue to accept credits earned at Hebrew University. However, according to a statement released by its director of summer, special and international programs, the university now tells students that if they do not heed State Department warnings, "they are acting entirely on their own, without the sanction of the University."

"Our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our students," the statement said. "We can not ignore publicly available information that establishes norms for risk in travel. We make every effort to bring such information to the attention of our students and their families, and to ensure that they read and understand it."

The debate at George Washington, Penn and Columbia reflects the schools' fear of being held liable should their students be harmed while studying in Israel.

Some universities have resolved the matter by asking students and their parents to sign a waiver absolving the university of liability.

In addition, some are dropping official partnerships with Israeli universities, which means that students can still receive credit for course work, but they do so solely under the auspices of the Israeli university.

That was the case with the CSU system, although unlike the moves under consideration at other schools — which would have affected only students applying for the spring 2001 semester — the CSU action stranded students already in Israel.

Also, unlike the East Coast schools, CSU so far has resisted pressure from Jewish groups unhappy with its decision.

The University of California is continuing its overseas studies program in Israel.

Leo van Cleve, director of international programs at CSU headquarters in Long Beach, noted that CSU has study abroad programs with some 50 foreign universities. In the past, similar cancellations were ordered only twice — both in Israel — during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the 1991 Gulf War, he said.

Van Cleve suggested that the cancellation would stand for the upcoming spring semester, but that the situation would be reconsidered in early 2001.