Early life and activities Rachmilevičius was born on 25 May 1876 in
Vawkavysk, then part of the
Russian Empire. After graduating from a local school in 1889, he continued his education in Germany. He graduated from a gymnasium in
Bensheim in 1896. He studied philosophy, chemistry, physics, mathematics at the
University of Königsberg. He received doctorate in philosophy from the
Heidelberg University in 1900. Rachmilevičius moved to
Vilnius in 1905 and joined the political life of the Jewish community. For a time, he made a living trading timber. He became more active during
World War I. In 1916, he was a member of a nine-member committee that assisted German
Ober Ost officials with conducting a
population census in Vilnius. He was a vice-chairman of the Central Relief Committee set up to help Jewish war refugees. He was a member of the Vilnius City Council in 1916–1918.
Lithuanian government At the end of 1918, Rachmilevičius organized a conference during which Jewish activists declared support for Lithuania's independence. On 11 December 1918, together with
Simon Rosenbaum and
Jakub Wygodzki, he was coopted to the
Council of Lithuania. Rachmilevičius represented the
General Zionists. On 26 December 1918, he became vice-minister of trade and industry in the government of Prime Minister
Mykolas Sleževičius. At the start of the
Lithuanian–Soviet War, he evacuated to
Kaunas and continued to work at the ministry until 22 June 1920. In April 1920, he was elected to the
Constituent Assembly of Lithuania on the electoral list of the
Democratic Jewish Union, a coalition list of various Jewish organizations. He represented
Achdus, which was affiliated with
Agudath Israel. Rachmilevičius was active in the Constituent Assembly, frequently speaking during it sessions. He was a member of the Finance and Budget Committee and the Economy Committee. In November 1921, he became deputy to the secretary of the presidium of the Constituent Assembly. During his tenure at the Constituent Assembly, Rachmilevičius proposed about 30 amendments, proposals, and corrections, though vast majority of them were rejected. In January 1920, the
Lithuanian Jewish community elected 34-member Jewish National Council, the supreme institution of Jewish autonomy in Lithuania (a
Kehilla). Rachmilevičius became its vice-chairman. In February 1923, Prime Minister
Ernestas Galvanauskas formed a new government and selected
Bernardas Fridmanas as the
Minister for Jewish Affairs. This was done without consulting the Jewish community. Agudath and Rachmilevičius supported Fridmanas, while the Zionists fiercely opposed him. As a result of this conflict, Rachmilevičius was removed from the
United Minorities list in the
May 1923 elections to the
Second Seimas. He subsequently withdrew from politics and political parties.
Later life In 1920, Rachmilevičius co-founded the and became its long-term board member. He continued to be active in the Jewish community. He was an honorary board member of the educational society . He lived in Berlin in 1928–1932 and later emigrated to
Mandatory Palestine. On 10 January 1935, he was accredited by King
George V as the general consul of Lithuania in
Tel Aviv. He continued to represent Lithuania after
its occupation by the Soviet Union in June 1940 helping to preserve the
legal state continuity of Lithuania. He died on 27 January 1942 in
Jerusalem and was buried at the
Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery. A memorial plaque to Rachmilevičius was affixed to a house on Vilnius Street in
Vilnius Old Town in 1997. ==Awards==