The Eric Metaxas Show - #69 - Yair Pinto Reports From Israel

Episode Date: March 3, 2026

Today On The Eric Metaxas Show, Eric speaks with Yair Pinto in Israel as missiles and sirens reshape daily life, and he describes what it is like getting kids into shelters, living through constant alerts, and watching the toll build. They discuss his experience with the IDF, what he says the IDF did differently in Gaza compared with normal warfare, and how headlines and propaganda shape what Americans think they are seeing. And Yair shares what he believes is happening right now, what a prolonged war could look like, and why faith, endurance, and prayer matter in this moment.

This episode is brought to you by KolaGard. Do you know what's really scary? Not screening for colon cancer when you turn 45. The KoloGard test is non-invasive, requires no special prep or time off work, and ships right to your door. In just three simple steps, KolaGar takes the scare out of colon cancer screening. If you're 45 or older and at average risk, ask your health care provider about the KolaGard test. KoloGard is available by prescription only. Learn more or request a prescription today at kolaGar.com slash screen. folks, welcome back. As promised, I have someone who is in Israel right now. His name is Jair Pinto. He is with TBN in Israel. Jair, thanks for coming on. Well, thank you, Eric, for having me. And definitely, it's been a crazy three days so far. And it seems like it's only got to get

worse. You know, we had one front in the beginning of this wall. And now we already have two, but I'm sure we're going to talk about that in the show. Well, I guess my question to you is, first of all, your story with a name like Ja'ir Pinto, you know, you don't sound like you're from Ohio. Where did you grow up? What brought you to Israel? I know you're a follower of Yeshua Hamashiyah, as am I. But Greeks pronounce it differently, but it's the same Jesus.

But what is your story? How did you get to live in Israel? And what part of Israel in you in right now? Well, I'm in the Jerusalem area. I was actually born and raised here. I'm second generation in Israel. Also, my mother was born and raised here. And, you know, you're right.

That's actually a very good question about how did I came to follow Yeshua, Messiah, Jesus. And that is actually a very, very long story. Because in Israel, you have maybe 0.001. percent of the Israelis, especially the Jews, that are following Jesus as their Messiah. So I always grew up as the only follower of Yeshua in my school, the only one in the IDF, and most likely the only one in my friends' group still up until today. But what can you do?

When you believe in something, you just follow it against all the odds. And I hope and pray that the rest of Israel will also discover that the Messiah that they are praying for and that was prophesized in the Bible, the Jewish Messiah, will be revealed himself to him as Yeshua, as Jesus. Well, you're following in the footsteps of Paul, who as a Jew longed desperately for his people,

the Jews, to come to know the Jesus that he knew. Your last name, Pinto, your family is from Brazil, but you said your parents moved to, Israel at some point. So, yeah, it's a bit more complicated. So my mom was born and raised here. Her parents, her father, came from Algiers in Africa to Israel, made Aliyah as a Jew.

And they met here and Israel had my mother. My dad, he was raised in a Jewish family in Brazil that back in the Inquisition escaped from Spain all the way, ended up in Brazil. There is actually a Jewish community named Pinto in Brazil, and he's the only one of all of his siblings that made Alia, came to Israel, served in the IDF, met my mother, and then I got introduced into this world. Wow.

Well, it's such an interesting thing because the other day, you know, some of us watched clips of Tucker Carlson's interview with Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and I thought it was so preposterous, so ignorant, shockingly on the part of Tucker to wonder if the people in Israel are actually Jews, how can we prove it, isn't not Netanyahu's family from Poland, and it's like he knows nothing of history.

Like, have you heard the diaspora? Have you heard of Jews being kicked out of Israel 2,000 years ago and going around the world? And what's amazing to me is how Jews kept their identity. This tells us so much about the Jewish. people that they would over the centuries despite persecution. You mentioned the Inquisition in Spain, on and on and on, maintain this identity because it mattered. So it's a beautiful thing. I'm glad your family has found its way back to Israel. So of course, the reason I have you on

today is because there's a war going on. And I don't know when this air is tomorrow or whatever, what will have happened. But what is it like for you living in Israel? And again, we hear that the enemies of Israel are constantly attacking Israel or wanting to attack Israel, of course, now more than ever. What is your sense of the Iranian regime still trying to cling to power, desperately hoping to wipe out Israel or any American bases? What do you, what has life been like in the last couple of days for you? Wow. So sadly, in Israel, we are kind of accustomed to this life, especially in the last two years and a half, but it started even before that. I mean, I remember growing up in Israel when Palestinian terrorists suicide bombers exploded on school buses.

That was kind of on a day-to-day basis for me growing up when I was in the 12th grade, 13th grade. So, I mean, fast forward to today, we are always facing an enemy that wants to destroy us. And this is not new to the Jewish people. Also, if you look at their biblical stories. So the new enemy that is trying to destroy Israel in the last two and a half, years is the Islamic Republic of Iran together with all their proxies, which are Hamas, Chisbalah in Lebanon, and then the Qutis in Yemen, and then other militias in Iraq. So this is kind of the new threat that we are facing now, and life has been hard.

There has been no school since Saturday morning for the kids. We have been rushing back and forth into the bomb shelter for, I would say, maybe 18 times every single day. And each time you go there, you need to stay in the bounce shutter for like 15 minutes to make sure all the debris of the rockets already fallen to the ground and not, you know, don't go out. And then like a part of a rocket that is the size of a bus can fall on your head, which is the number one cause of the casualties in Israel.

The sad part is that it affects the kids. It affects the children because you hear sirens allowance in the middle of the night. You need to wake up. You have 30 seconds or a minute, depends on your location, to seek shelter. And that's happening multiple and multiple times. And my kids, when we traveled not long ago to the United States of America as a family for vacation,

the first question that they asked me when they entered the airplane was, Abba, which is father in Hebrew, where is the bomb shelter on the plane? That was the first question. And then we landed in New York City, in Manhattan, and I'm taking them to the park, to Central Park. And they hear the ice cream truck sound for the ice cream truck coming,

and they freak out and look for bomb shelters. So this thing affects them, even though we think that they are resilience and that they can absorb everything, which they do. But it has an effect. So this is a big issue. And I would say this is the number one issue that people should pray for when they're praying for Israel, is the host traumatic effects, especially on the next generation, on the young children, on my children, you know, so that they will be able to grow up without this effect in their life.

And then, you know, if you look about the military side of stuff, Israel performed an incredible preemptive strike taking out all the leadership of the IRGC. I mean, from the supreme leader, I told Ari Haminai, to the chief of staff, and to at least 30 more top level officials in Iran. So it looks like the Iranian nation has been preparing well, and they are a nation of 92 million people. Israel is only 10 million people. So this war, according to the Israeli officials and according to the Iranians, and according to the United States, is going to last for at least a month or something like that. So looks like this is going to be part of our life. So far, not been called to the IDF reserves. Many of my friends and colleagues have been called to their units.

In my IDF days, like days now, just a year ago, I was inside Gaza as a tank platoon commander. And at least now I'm in home. So far haven't been called yet to defend. our country against enemies that are close by. But we'll see if that changes or not. Hey, folks, before we get back to our guests, I just want to say a lot of people donate when there's a headline,

but MDA, Magan David Adom, doesn't get to slow down when the news cycle moves on. MDA is Israel's national EMS system. That means emergencies don't stop today, tomorrow, next month. Heart attacks, accidents, trauma, surgeries, blood shortages, they're constant. Keeping that system strong requires, ongoing support. When you give to the American friends of Magin David Adom, you're funding the basics

that make everything else possible. Ambulances on the road, blood banks for trauma and surgery, training for first responders, and equipment that's used every single shift. This is not symbolic giving. This is practical life-saving support. If you want your donation to have direct, measurable impact, this is one of the clearest ways to do it. Go to savinglifeisrael.org. That's saving life israel.org. What do you, what do you say, you know, because it's such a terrible thing, but we hear so much news, a lot of it is propaganda about the way the IDF conducted the war in Gaza. You were there.

I find it very hard to believe as an American, as a friend of Israel, that Israel would conduct the war there any differently than the Americans would conduct the war. We don't conduct the war the way the Nazis do, the way Iranians do. We actually care about in a sense. But this lie that's been put out there that, you know, the Israelis are killing children. Why do you think, I mean, you were there. I think you would know. You were not there to kill children. You were there to defend your country. What is your sense of that? These stories that are put out and that many people believe. Yeah. Yeah, it's very sad to see it because I was there. And I think that the idea of even more than any army in the history of the world, including the United States

of America, is doing above and beyond to try and protect the civilians of the other side. even though these civilians are the ones that voted in Hamas and are the ones that even now saying that they want Hamas, a terrorist organization, to lead them even now, according to the public polls going on in the Gaza Strip. So despite this fact, Israel, before carrying out any kind of operation,

and that was me and my unit, before we entered an area to dismantle rocket launchers and terror infrastructures, we had to send leaflets, meaning planes with Arabic posters saying, evacuate this area because Hamas terrorists are using it in order to carry out attacks against Israel and our forces will come in tomorrow

or in the next few days in order to dismantle these terrorist elements. And then also in this leaflets, there is a map that's saying you can leave this area safely, take this route, this corridor, and the IDF will make sure that you are safe because you know who is launching attacks against the Palestinian people? Hamas, because they want to keep using

them as human shields. So the IDF needs to, first of all, let its enemies, the people of its enemies, know that we're coming. Second of all, protect them against their own terrorist regime that is controlling them, which is Hamas. And then on top of that,

need to notify our enemies that we're about to come in. So that's kind of very counterproductive to waging a war. But that's what Israel has been doing and that's what I have been doing. And sadly, we have paid lives. We have paid the price with lives. My specific unit lost the first five people, five soldiers when we had to enter into the area of Hanyunus and we could not open fire towards a school in which Hamas terrorist was stationed with underground tunnels,

rockets and snipers, and open fire at us. And we could not respond against this school because of the fact that it's internationally lost, un-okay, unconsured to launch attacks against civilian facilities. But Hamas knows that, and that's where they placed their terrorists. So we launched five people, and only after a few days of proving that terrorists are launching attacks against us from this facility

and proving that there are no civilians, we could take down this school facility that includes Hamas terrorists taking over it. So this is the situation. And then in the news, what do you hear? You hear IDF destroys a school in the Gaza Strip. That's it. This is the headline in CNN, BBC, everybody, you know. So it's very hard to defend when people only care about the clickbites and only care

about a 30-second information. But in reality, me personally and my, unit and the IDF at large does everything possible. And there's more. Who is feeding the enemy during wartime? Israel is now bringing and has been bringing throughout the entirety of this war, except for maybe two months, more than 200 truckloads of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

I've seen these truckloads. Also I've seen the food inside Gaza. And I've been there when the United Nations refused to give the food to the Palestinian people. because they were all part of this narrative to join forces with terrorism and with the international media stating that Israel is starving Gaza. You know, this amount of food is double the amount of calories that a normal adult needs per day. So not just that Israel is not starving the people of Gaza. We are overfeeding them, you know, giving them like all the amount.

But the sad part is that Hamas terrorists are stealing the food. and then selling it to their own people. So they get a win, a double win. One, it's a propaganda win against Israel because they have images of people suffering. And then second, they get money because they get free food from the international aid organizations and then they sell it back to their own people

with 15% tax on top of that, which is what's happening even now, as I'm speaking to you in Gaza. I mean, my audience has to understand in case they don't. There is evil in the world, folks. There are people who lie and cheat and steal and do wicked things. When you're dealing with Islamal fascists, this is what they do. They lie. Now, when you're dealing with Israel, it's like dealing with the United States.

We want to be the good guys. We want to do things in a different way. We answer to a higher authority. I've written a book on the American Revolution. I have been astonished. George Washington insisted. that his officers and his troops treat the enemy with dignity. Once they're captured, treat them with dignity to feed them and care for them,

our enemies to have the moral high ground. The enemy, the British, did not do that. They were despicable. And it sounds like the same thing is going on in Israel right now. It doesn't make any human sense to treat your enemies this way. But if you have a biblical worldview, if you believe in good and evil, You believe that God honors us when we honor those who are made in his image, even if there are enemies. And so this is a radical departure from warfare in history.

But I know the United States prides itself on this. Israel, of course, prides itself on this. Ambassador Huckabee referred to this in his interview with Tucker Carlson that the IDF even goes above and beyond what the United States does in terms of warning the civilians, get out. we're going to bomb this area or whatever. This is, it's an extraordinary thing. And really it refers back to covenant theology that when we honor God and our behavior, we believe God will honor us. We're not going to win by doing anything and by being sadistic and cruel just because

this is what the enemy does. And this is very counterintuitive for a lot of people that don't understand it. But I'm glad you were able to lay this out for my audience because we hear so many lies and it's disturbing. And again, so many people believe these lies. I have to say. I want to remind my audience, folks, if you want to help Israel,

one of our sponsors is Magen David Adom. I interviewed some of them in Nashville a couple of weeks ago. These are the folks that are, you know, they're the EMTs with the ambulances helping when a bomb hits in Israel. If you want to help them, the website, and correct me from wrong, Chris Heimes,

but I think it's saving lifeisrael. org. saving life Israel.org If you just want to do something if you just want to help right now saving life Israel dot org

the organization is Magen David Adom So Yair right now you are there you don't know what tomorrow holds I know that Iran is trying to strike in Israel

what is your sense of that I mean have you have you heard or the rocket over the last days. What is it like on the ground where you are now? Well, have you seen war movies from Vietnam and places like that? Well, that's about it. You constantly hear the rumble of airplanes in the sky from the Israeli Air Force launching attacks against Iran and then coming back and then attacks against Iran and then coming back.

On top of that, you have the sirens alarms when the incoming missiles are coming in. and then you have the explosions from the missiles. Iran is launching already, have been launched, launched already at Israel, 150 or more than 150, I would say the correct number is 183, if I'm updated up until the last barrage of rockets, that were already launched towards Israel. Okay? So this is an enormous amount of rockets that have been launched

at a tiny nation like Israel. And thanks God, we have a very, very good anti-rocket defensive system, meaning we have our own rockets that are intercepting these rockets that have been launched at us from Iran. And all of this causes a lot of noise. So you have the missiles that are coming at you. And then you have our rockets that are intercepting them. And they are intercepting them by detonating on them. And then that creates booms in the sky. So we have a lot of booms in the sky and explosions that are heard.

And some of the rockets, sadly, do penetrate because, you know, it's statistical about sometimes some of these rockets penetrate. And we had a rocket landing in Jerusalem just yesterday. And we had a rocket landed in Bateshamesh, which is 20 minutes from where I live also. And we had a rocket landed in the neighborhood community in Tel Aviv, in the central part. of Israel and you know there's no 100% safety. One rocket landed a direct hit on a bomb shelter and was able to penetrate because that's a half a ton of a warhead that penetrated all the reinforced concrete and we have people that lost their lives already and many wounded.

So the war is felt here very much and on top of that my kids today went to to study on Zoom their classes, you know, just a little bit to try and feel some kind of routine because the government understands that this is going to be a prolonged campaign. It's going to be a few weeks, maybe a month as of now. And the country wants to continue the day-to-day lives somehow. But at the moment, everything has been reduced to essential work only, no gatherings. if you do not walk at something that is very, very essential like being a journalist or producing food or security or health,

then you are staying at home, either walking from home or not working at all. So this is the situation. And on top of that, you have 70,000 new reserve IDF soldiers, meaning civilians that were called up back into the IDF, like myself. And then they have stationed to defend the country against new attacks from terrorists close by. And the Palestinian terrorists do not stop because the war is with Iran.

So they're also trying to carry out attacks, especially now when the eyes of the world are faced with Iran and not with what's happening in Israel, not with what's happening in the Gaza Strip. It's unbelievable. You are safe in God's hands. It's the only thing to do is to pray

and to trust the Lord. Nobody likes war, but sometimes we have to fight wars, and you didn't choose this. So God bless you, Yair, for coming on. What is your role at TBN in Israel? So I'm the director of operations for TBN in Israel, and I'm the host of Boots on the Ground, which is a weekly show that airs every Thursday at 9.30 p.m. Eastern Time on TBN. And also every single day on our YouTube channel, TBN Israel,

and even twice a day now since this wall started. So if you want to check us out, go to TBN Israel on YouTube, boots on the ground, Io Pinto. Okay, terrific. And so folks, you can check that out. And again, if you want to do something to give, our sponsor is Magen da vidadom. The website is SavingLifeisrael.

orG, saving lifeisrael.org. They can use your help if you can spare it, savinglifeisrael.org. Again, that's Magen, David Adom, savinglifeisrael.org. And Jaer Pinto, I'm very grateful that you're able to come on and give us a perspective, not just as a Jew in Israel, not just as a Jew in Israel who believes in Jesus as Messiah, but also as somebody who has children, and who has been with the IDF in Gaza. You can give us a perspective and give us clarity. We're grateful to you, Yair. God bless you.

Thank you. Well, thank you very much, Eric. And just one last word of optimism is, you know, I learned that despite the fact of being under attack missiles, rockets, hostages in the last two and a half years, being separated from my family for four months in the early days of this wall, I know that God is faithful. And I know that even more now than before because the fact that Israel is still here,

the fact that all these rockets or the majority of them are missing their targets, it's not because we are smart. It's not because we have the best army. It's not because we are beautiful. Maybe I am not as beautiful as you, but, you know, it's not because of any of these things. You know, it's because God is faithful. He's been faithful to his promises to Abraham, to Isaac, to James, to James, to Jacob, to Jacob in biblical days and he's still faithful today.

Israel is still here after 2,000 years in the diaspora, we're back here. Now the enemy wants to destroy that, the modern state of Israel and God is not letting them. And why is God doing that? Because God wants to prove to the whole world that he is a faithful God that performs biblical level miracles in modern day. We are living a living God. We are serving a living God today. And if you need any kind of encouragement in your life regarding if God is real or not,

open the news. Every channel is talking about Israel. And that's living proof of God's faithfulness and the fact that he's performing miracles today. And that's why all the enemies want to attack Israel and sadly will want to attack Israel more. But I rather have God on my side and face the entire world than have the whole world on my side and face God. Amen and amen. God bless you, Yair. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Hi, everyone. If you were injured in an accident, listen up. We have legal professionals standing by to answer your questions. You can find out if you have a case and how much it's potentially worth. I'm Gina Bellich, along with Super Bowl champ and two-time pro bowler Vernon Davis. So Vernon, tell everyone watching who should call right now.

Well, Gina, if you or someone you know were injured in an accident that was not your fault, give us a call right now. You can find out if you have a case and how much money is potentially worth. Thanks, Vernon. You know, the phones have really been busy. So what kind of calls have we been getting? We're getting calls about all types of accidents, from car accidents to slipping falls and so many others. So if you were injured in an accident, don't go at it alone.

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