Restitution of looted property
In 2013–2014, Japhet initiated and implemented a pro bono project for the restitution of Holocaust victims' property in East Germany after a reporter for an online newspaper, Ofer Aderet, revealed that there was a deadline for applying for compensation for assets stolen by the Nazis, and descendants would not be able to file claims after a certain date. That same day, Japhet conducted genealogical research in which he managed to locate the great-granddaughter of one of the victims on the list. The woman, who lives in Brazil, was informed of her right to claim the property. With the help of this project, many descendants of Jews murdered in the Holocaust were able to appeal to receive restitution for their property.[16]
Doreen Carvajal, a reporter for The New York Times in Paris, heard about this work and invited Japhet to cooperate with her in locating heirs, mostly Holocaust victims, whose artworks were stolen by the Nazis during World War II. Carvajal sent Japhet the names of four Jews listed in the MNR (National Museums Restitution) database of stolen art compiled by Rose Valland.[17] Through Japhet's genealogical research, the heirs of all four were located. She published a story about it in the New York Times that caused a stir and encouraged the French authorities to invest greater effort in locating heirs.[18][19]
Digitizing cemeteries
In 2014, Japhet initiated a national project to photograph all the graves in the State of Israel, transcribe the information on the tombstones, and publish photographs of the graves, to make them accessible to the public free of charge. As part of this project, Japhet recruited a team of 120 volunteers, half of them MyHeritage employees, to photograph the gravestones in Holon Cemetery, Israel's largest burial grounds, for genealogical documentation. Within a few hours, pictures were taken of 150,000 gravestones, two-thirds of the total. In the pilot for the project, 75,000 graves were photographed at Segula, a smaller cemetery in Petah Tikva.[1]
Family reunification
In 2016, Japhet established a DNA database to contribute to the reunification of Yemenite, North African, and other families that were split up under mysterious circumstances in the early days of the state, an episode known as Yemenite Children Affair. The initiative was launched in cooperation with the Knesset Lobby on Yemenite Children headed by MK Nurit Koren.[20]
DNA Quest
In a pro bono initiative in 2018, conceived by Japhet, MyHeritage announced it would provide 15,000 free DNA testing kits to individuals searching for their birth families and family members given up for adoption. The company currently charges $79 per kit, which contains cheek swabs.[21]
Chess competitions
Japhet is the organizer and sponsor of the Gideon Japhet Memorial Open Chess Tournament, an annual international competition dedicated to the memory of his father, Gideon Japhet, who was an avid chess and sports enthusiast. The competition attracts hundreds of chess players from Israel and around the world, and has been described as one of the strongest open chess tournaments in Israel.[22][23]
