News Brief

Army Maj. Stuart Adam Wolfer was killed in the U.S.-protected Green Zone in Baghdad. Wolfer, 36, a native of Miami who lived in Emmett, Idaho, was working out at the military fitness center Sunday, when insurgents fired several rockets into the area, hitting the gym, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. One other soldier died in the attack. A reserve assigned to the 11th Battalion, 104th division, Wolfer was deployed to Iraq in late December. Described as a religious man who observed Jewish rituals even in Iraq, such as praying daily while wearing tefillin, Wolfer was a pen pal to students at the Mirochnick Religious School of B’Nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton, Fla., during his last tour of duty, in Kuwait, according to the Palm Beach Post. He was set to resume his pen pal relationship with the students, but was killed before any letters were written, a school official said. He will be buried on Friday, a friend of the family told JTA. He is survived by his parents, Esther and Len Wolfer; his wife, Lee Ann Wolfer; three daughters, Lillian Wade, 5, Melissa Lacey-Marie, 3, and Isadora Ruth, 1; and his sister, Beverly Nerenberg.