President Reuven Rivlin welcomed Israel Prize-winning actress Leah Koenig, who is celebrating her 90th birthday, to the President's Residence. Rivlin said, “Already 90 years old! You are the First Lady of Israeli theatre, and one of the most important founders of modern Hebrew culture. It is impossible to imagine Israeli culture without you, Your personal story is that of many others, the story of the generation that took part in founding the young Zionist state. “I wish that we all continue to enjoy many more of your years and that we continue to be your audience and your fans. May you enjoy good health that allows you to star on the stage of Israeli culture.”
Koenig presented the president with a book of poems by Japanese poet Toyo Shibata, that she only began to write at the age of 94, and told him, smiling, that she was “an artist who was just starting out.”