During Yemenite Jews’ stay in Israeli transit camps during 1948–1950, many of their children disappeared in the so-called “Yemenite Children Affair,” undermining the immigrants’ faith in the redemptive ethos of Zionism. To better understand this collective trauma, we return to the original Freudian conceptualization of melancholia as “failed mourning,” locating it within the ethnographic context of the Yemenite Children Affair and integrating its private/individual and public/collective aspects. Moreover, we provide a novel historical reading that integrates the individual loss of children and the collective lack of civic recognition. We use the term “civil melancholia” to reflect on the lingering, hurtful group experience of being overlooked (as refugees and parents) and the continuing collective predicament as “second-rate citizens.” By conceptualizing this civil melancholia and its cultural nuances, the analysis enhances the discussion of cultural traumas and their intergenerational transmission among contemporary ethnic immigrant groups.

中文翻译：

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民间忧郁症：也门犹太人对其子女被绑架的反应

1948 年至 1950 年间，也门犹太人在以色列临时营地逗留期间，他们的许多孩子在所谓的“也门儿童事件”中失踪，破坏了移民对犹太复国主义救赎精神的信仰。为了更好地理解这种集体创伤，我们回到弗洛伊德最初将忧郁症概念化为“失败的哀悼”，将其置于也门儿童事件的民族志背景中，并整合其私人/个人和公共/集体方面。此外，我们提供了一种新颖的历史阅读，将儿童的个体丧失和公民认可的集体缺乏结合起来。我们使用“公民忧郁症”一词来反思被忽视（作为难民和父母）的挥之不去的、伤害性的群体经历，以及作为“二流公民”的持续集体困境。