Beit Berl (Hebrew: בֵּית בֶּרְל‎, lit. Berl House) is a village and the largest academic college in Israel in number of students (approximately 7,000) and the range of programs it offers. Located on the outskirts of Kfar Sava, it falls under the jurisdiction of Drom HaSharon Regional Council. In 2006 it had a permanent population of 260. Beit Berl was named after Berl Katznelson, the spiritual leader of the Labor movement in Mandate Palestine. The cornerstone was laid on 21 August 1946 and was used as an area base for the Haganah forces, and later by the Israel Defense Forces. Beit Berl was established in the 1970s, on what had been the training institute for teachers, youth leaders, kibbutz members and immigrant youth, that had been active at the location since the end of the 1940s. The college received its first permit in 1979 and two years later it gained academic recognition for its junior high school and informal education courses. It was primarily a teacher training college under supervision of the Ministry of Education.