The only people confusing the issue want to make it an issue.

This is key.

There are people who are anti-Semitic, and there are people who are islamophobic, and those people all view the opposition as sub-human. They will don't want peace because they want to win.

And then there are the people who benefit from the conflict, and will stoke the fires on both sides. They don't care who wins, who dies, who suffers, because while there is violence and death, they can benefit themselves.

Any progressive engaged in a discussion needs to recognize whether they are talking to a zealot or a profiteer. The former might be reasoned with. Supporters of Israel or Hamas might be shown the error in their thought process.