Fureidis is one of the few Arab villages on Israel's coast left intact after the 1948 war.
During the conflict, it received a great number of refugees from nearby villages, including Tantura, and was repeatedly considered for assault by Israeli forces.
However, residents of local Jewish settlements, in particular Zichron Yaakov requested that Fureidis (and the neighbouring village of Jisr az-Zarqa) be allowed to remain, as they had traditionally had good relations with the Yishuv, and a large number of residents from Fureidis worked as hired labour on Jewish farms.
This was alluded to by Arab novelist Emile Habibi in his famous novel The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist.

As of the census of 2008, Fureidis had 10,800 residents, of whom 99.6% were Muslim Arabs.

According to data released by the Israeli Ministry of Education based on a 2008 census of high school matriculation scores, Fureidis had a 75.85% eligibility rate, greatly exceeding the accomplishments of most Jewish towns.
The national eligibility rate in 2008-2009 was 44.4 percent of all 17-year-olds.
Fureidis won third place in the national ranking.
Hossni Abu Dahash, the town's high school principal, said the school had organized a marathon study program to prepare 12th graders for their matriculation exam.

Ibtisam Mahmid, whose family came from Tantura, became an activist after 1995 when she was thrown out of an Egged bus because she was an Arab.

Ibtisam Mahammed of Fureidis was awarded the Dalai Lama's Unsung Heroes of Compassion prize for her efforts to promote peace between Arabs and Jews.
For many years Mahammed has been organizing Jewish and Arab women's circles to promote dialogue.
She heads several women's peace organizations and has fought on behalf of battered women in Arab society.
Fureidis is one of the few Arab villages on Israel's coast left intact after the 1948 war. During the conflict, it received a great number of refugees from nearby villages, including Tantura, and was repeatedly considered for assault by Israeli forces. However, residents of local Jewish settlements, in particular Zichron Yaakov requested that Fureidis (and the neighbouring village of Jisr az-Zarqa) be allowed to remain, as they had traditionally had good relations with the Yishuv, and a large number of residents from Fureidis worked as hired labour on Jewish farms. This was alluded to by Arab novelist Emile Habibi in his famous novel The Secret Life of Saeed the Pessoptimist.
As of the census of 2008, Fureidis had 10,800 residents, of whom 99.6% were Muslim Arabs.
According to data released by the Israeli Ministry of Education based on a 2008 census of high school matriculation scores, Fureidis had a 75.85% eligibility rate, greatly exceeding the accomplishments of most Jewish towns. The national eligibility rate in 2008-2009 was 44.4 percent of all 17-year-olds. Fureidis won third place in the national ranking. Hossni Abu Dahash, the town's high school principal, said the school had organized a marathon study program to prepare 12th graders for their matriculation exam.
Ibtisam Mahmid, whose family came from Tantura, became an activist after 1995 when she was thrown out of an Egged bus because she was an Arab.
Ibtisam Mahammed of Fureidis was awarded the Dalai Lama's Unsung Heroes of Compassion prize for her efforts to promote peace between Arabs and Jews. For many years Mahammed has been organizing Jewish and Arab women's circles to promote dialogue. She heads several women's peace organizations and has fought on behalf of battered women in Arab society.
Fureidis