• End-of-the-year figures show that Iran’s annual inflation rocketed to over 27% as a result of American-led sanctions against the country over its nuclear program. Iranian officials are set to meet with the P5+1 Group for negotiations on Iran’s program later this month. [AP]
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he plans to build a fence to extend more than 40 miles in the Golan Heights as a safeguard against spillover from the Syrian civil war. [NPR]
• David Horovitz has a smart take on how the rightward political shift in Israel will manifest itself following the upcoming elections. [Times of Israel]
• Josh Levin writes on the man who is trying to save pinball. [Slate]
• French President Francois Hollande met with the Chief Rabbi of France as part of an outreach effort with religious groups concerning a new French law that would allow for same-sex marriage. [JTA]
Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.