FURAYDIS, AL

FURAYDIS, AL-, Arab village in Israel at the foot of Mt. Carmel, near Zikhron Ya'akov . The village of al-Furaydis and the nearby Jewish settlers developed close economic and social ties, which date back to the founding of Zikhron Ya'akov. During the war of independence (1948), the Arab village did not participate in the attacks on Jewish traffic in the vicinity. It was the only Arab village of the region which remained fully populated and unchanged after Israel's independence (1948). In 1952 it received municipal status. Al-Furaydis, with 2,810 inhabitants in 1969, engaged in intensive farming. By 2002 the population had increased to 9,350 inhabitants. Like the Hebrew word "Pardes," the village's name is assumed to be derived from the Greek "paradeisos" (the origin also of "paradise"). (Efraim Orni)