The Council advances public understanding about the Jewish religion, culture and community, by providing information and assistance to educational, health, and welfare organisations.

The council is affiliated to the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which speaks for the entire UK Jewish community on reserved matters that affect the entire UK, while the council has the same role in relation to the Scottish Government and other Scottish bodies with regard to matters devolved by the Scotland Act that only affect Scotland.

The council was initially established when a meeting of all Scotland's organised Jewish communities adopted its first constitution on 30 September 1999, and was recognised as Scottish Charity no.

SCoJeC's response did not express a single opinion but instead set out the official positions of the various branches of the Jewish community in Scotland.

[5] SCoJeC's functions generally fall into three key areas, which are reflected in its strap-line, "representing, connecting, and supporting Jewish people in Scotland": SCoJeC promotes the understanding of Jewish religion, culture, and community, and works to provide information and assistance to local authorities, other faith and ethnic communities, and educational, health, and welfare bodies across the country.

[16] In 2018, SCoJeC collaborated with Jewish Policy Research (JPR) on data collection in 2018 for the significant study of antisemitism throughout Europe they conducted, together with Ipsos, for the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

SCoJeC is represented on the Executive of a Scottish charity specialising in facilitating constructive engagement between different faith and belief communities across Scotland.

[24] In 2018, SCoJeC took part in a discussion and kosher lunch hosted by Rt Rev Dr Derek Browning, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland at the time.

The meeting concluded with the signing of a joint declaration by the representatives of SCoJeC and the MCS, stating that the organisations stand together determined to end the hatred and extremism that affect us all.

SCoJeC also assists the Community to comply with immigration regulations by informing communal organisations about relevant requirements, and sponsoring visa applications for overseas visitors to carry out work in the community, for example to enable a visiting rabbi to perform a wedding, or to ensure that volunteer youth workers from outwith the European Economic Area can legally participate in a communal organisation's activities.

[32][33] SCoJeC provides educational resources, and sending accredited volunteer ambassadors to visit schools throughout Scotland, in order to promote better understanding of Judaism and the Jewish community,[34] and organises and supports social and educational events in the smaller communities and in remote venues such as Lochgilphead, Findhorn, Oban, Skye, Shetland, Arran, and the Borders.

SCoJeC also conducted several small-scale inquiries with funding from the Scottish Government, to find out about the variety of experience of Jewish people in Scotland, and encourage them to identify the issues that are important to them, most recently in 2020,[39] the final report being still under works.

These studies provided an opportunity for Jewish people from throughout Scotland to address some concerns about security and about their relationships with the wider community.