Those who were interested in participating were directed to fill out a questionnaire to determine their eligibility and may also have accessed a website and call center for assistance.

The issue of the assets of the Holocaust victims in Israel was first raised in 1997 by Prof. Yossi Katz, who published his finding in the article "Forgotten Property.

[6] One of the commitments that formed the basis for HEART's endeavor to seek restitution was the Terezin Declaration passed during the 2009 Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague.

[8] It was chaired by Rafi Eitan, former senior citizens affairs minister, and its executive director was Bobby Brown of JAFI.

Brown has been involved in Holocaust restitution for more than ten years, including when he served as Diaspora affairs advisor during Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's first term.

Its first step was to identify people with potential claims for certain types of private property that was confiscated, looted, or forcibly sold in countries governed or occupied by Nazi or Axis forces during the Holocaust.

[9][10] However, if Holocaust victims or their heirs had already received restitution for a particular piece of property, then they were no longer eligible for participation in Project HEART.

The latter task has been handled by the New-York based Conference on Material Claims Against Germany (including the negotiations with Austria) since early 1950s.

[9] This database and one that contains information collected regarding Holocaust victims and their heirs along with their potential claims would have then been used to seek restitution along with the cooperation of governments and others that have not done so yet.