Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah

Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah (Hebrew: מועצת חכמי התורה; lit., "Council of [wise] Torah Sages") is the rabbinical body that has the ultimate authority in the Israeli ultra-Orthodox Sephardic and Mizrahi Shas Party.

As a new Haredi party, Shas followed in the footsteps of the Ashkenazi Agudat Yisrael and Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, and set up a similar mechanism.

The members of the council decide on the list of candidates, coalition agreements, and determine the political and diplomatic policies of Shas party.

[2] After Moshe Maya, Rafael Pinhasi served as council secretary for 14 years, and had retired after the death of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Up until the death of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the structure in Shas political authority was the same as that of Degel HaTorah.

Hebrew: כינוס_מועצת_חכמי_התורה_של_ש"ס,_לצד_ח"כ_אריה_דרעי_,הרב_יצחק_יוסף,_הרב_משה_מאיה_,והרב_אברהם_סאלים
Moetzes Chachmei HaTorah members present; from l-r: Yitzchak Yosef ; Moshe Maya ; Avraham Salim; Shlomo Machpud(not present: Reuven Elbaz ; Shmuel Betzalel)
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef is seated, with his son Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef to his right, Rabbi Shalom Cohen at the far right, and Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron in the back. Shimon Peres stands at the far left.