Orna Porat, a German convert to Judaism who became a grande dame of Israeli theater, has died at age 91.
Porat died Aug. 6 in her home, i24 News reported.
Porat was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize in 1979 for a lifetime of achievement in theater. She also won Yedioth Acharonot’s Kinor David Prize in 1970, 1974 and 1980.
Born in Germany as Irene Klein, she moved to pre-state Israel with her Jewish husband, Yossef Porat, in 1947. He was an employee of Israel’s intelligence service, the Mossad, and he died in 1996.
During her time at the Cameri Theater of Tel Aviv, where she began performing in 1948, Porat created and managed its children’s theater from 1965 to 1970. After it closed, she created another, the Orna Porat Theater for Children and Youth.
The Cameri arranged for her body to be placed in a coffin on its main stage last Friday before her burial in Hadid, a moshav between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Israel’s former President Shimon Peres sent a letter of condolence to Porat’s family, saying she was “a cultural giant — she introduced theater to the Israeli society, especially the young generation” and “educated our children and grandchildren to love the theater.” — jta