Fureidis was established in the 19th century. The name is believed to come from the Arabic (firdawis), meaning little Garden of Eden, borrowed from the Persianparadise. Fureidis is one of the few Arab villages on Israel’s coast left intact after the 1948 war. 
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 the bagrut exam.
In December 1999, a cave above the old part of Fureidis on the western slope of the Carmel was found to contain fragments of pottery from the Chalcolithic period, including large bowls, jars, ossuary fragments and a pale pink limestone pendant. It appears to have been used as a dwelling and a burial cave. The artifacts in the cave attest to the presence of a settlement from the pre-Ghassulian period. 
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.