When the author uses the term “semi-Jew,” what does it mean? Someone with one Jewish parent and one non-Jewish parent, or a non-Jewish person whose spouse is Jewish?
I’ve never heard the term but I’d speculate he’s referring to individuals of Jewish ancestry who in no way affiliate with the Jewish community or Judaism. There are large numbers of those in the former USSR. A quarter to a third of the Russian immigrants to Israel are not Jewish, but eligible due to a Jewish parent or grandparent.