Tomer Lotan
Tomer LotanDefense Ministry Spokesperson

Public Security Ministry Director-General Tomer Lotan participated in the 'Ben Gurion Conference' today (Wednesday) and addressed the change of his ministry's name and the expansion of its powers in the next government.

"I think it's better for politicians to deal with substance and less with details such as names and titles. But more than that - anyone familiar with the public service will agree with me that many of the changes that governments order in the make-up of teams can be disastrous for the ability of the ministries to function," Lotan said.

He addressed survey data showing that two thirds of Negev residents do not believe that the government is properly addressing issues related to their personal security. When we talk about personal security, this world is divided into facts - how safe is the world around us - and the way in which the security is perceived. As a country, our perception of security has been greatly damaged in recent years - Israeli society received a very serious blow after Operation Guardian of the Walls, and this knocked over a domino which should have fallen long ago."

"It is very difficult to be able to respond to these feelings, which may be justified, but I must point out that this government, which invested more in the area of personal security than any of its predecessors by a significant margin, so today I can say that Guardian of the Walls 2 may be on the way, but our readiness for it is infinitely better than it was," he said.

"So it's true, there is a very large gap between the actual personal security and the feeling of personal security in Israel, and that gap is up to the citizens. My fear is that because of the blaring headlines, citizens will be afraid to contact the police, and this cycle must be interrupted," he concluded.