It is really not a good sign to be starting a piece of writing on the question of “what is a Jew?” Generally, it is best when there’s less dwelling on this question, not more. And yet, that’s where we are, because there’s apparently a great deal of confusion on the basics of the subject, and the confusion seems to issue from ambiguity about words, especially the words nation, people, and country.

Here’s how we got here: People started saying preposterous things almost immediately after the New York Times reported that President Trump was about to issue an executive order bringing the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act protections “on the ground of race, color, or national origin” to Jews by way of classifying Jews as a nationality.