Claim: Pinchas ben Ayir was a Tanna(repeaters, teachers) a rabbinic sage and a priest of Aaron's lineage and the abandonment of the project to abolish the shmita year of release by Judah haNasi attributed to him.
Evidence: Pinchas ben Yair (Hebrew: פנחס בן יאיר‎) was a Tanna of the 4th generation who lived, probably at Lod, in the late 2nd century. Tannaim (Aramaic: תנאים‎ [tannaˈ(ʔ)im, singular תנא‎ [tanˈna, Tanna "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. Pinchas was a priest of Aaron's lineage. To Pinchas is attributed the abandonment by Judah haNasi of his project to abolish the shmita year of release.