District Central Population (2015) 113 Headquarters Kfar Saba, Israel | Council Drom HaSharon Founded 1970 | |
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Similar Open University of Israel, מכללת לוינסקי לחינוך, Oranim Academic College, Achva Academic College, Bar‑Ilan University | ||
Beit Berl (Hebrew: בֵּית בֶּרְל, lit. Berl House) is a village and the largest academic college in Israel with around 7,000 students. Located on the outskirts of Kfar Saba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Drom HaSharon Regional Council. In 2015 it had a permanent population of 113.
Contents
Map of Beit Berl, Israel
History
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. It was built on the site of the Qalmaniya estate founded by Moshe Gredinger, a British businessman, who visited Palestine in April 1926. In 1927, he purchased land for the establishment of a large plantation north of Kfar Saba. He named the estate for his father, Kalman Gredinger. The farm, which grew citrus and then established a dairy barn, was not successful. In 1945, Gredinger wrote to Avraham Harzfeld, a founder of the Histadrut Labor Federation in Palestine, who proposed establishing a training institute there commemorating Berl Katznelson.
Beit Berl Academic College 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. The Ministry amalgamated other frameworks of training for teachers from the central area of Israel, such as: The Arab Teacher and Kindergarten Teacher Training Institute, The Art Teachers Training College, The Agricultural Teacher Training College, The Technology Teacher Training Institute, The Academic Teacher Training Institute, and The Schein Teachers Seminar. In 1987 it was granted full recognition for all its specializations.