The United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

 issued a 32 cent

Cent (currency)

In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....

 stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

 in 1996 as a joint issue

Joint issue

A joint issue is the release of stamps or postal stationery by two or more countries to commemorate the same topic, event or person of relevance to both countries...

 with Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. (See Israeli-American Hanukkah Stamp.) Hanukkah

Hanukkah

Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...

 commemorates the revolt led by Judah Maccabee

Judas Maccabeus

Judah Maccabee was a Kohen and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias...

 against the government of Antiochus IV in 165 BCE. This initial printing produced 103.5 million stamps and in 1997 there was a re-issue. It is regarded as the first Jewish stamp issued by the US Postal service (1996) and noted by most experts and dealers of these kind of stamps, see:

"The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a new series of "Holiday Celebration" stamps in 1996 with the debut of the first stamp commemorating the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. The Chanukah stamp is the first U.S. stamp to recognize a Jewish holiday. Jointly issued with Israel, both countries feature the same design. The U.S. version contains the English spelling of "Hanukkah" and the Israeli stamp features the Hebrew spelling. The Chanukah stamp was designed by Hannah Smotrich, a graphic designer and instructor at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C., and Board Member of the Washington Chapter - American Institute of Graphic Arts. Smotrich created the stamp design using pieces of cut colored paper, a medium she has used to create cards for family and friends. Smotrich paid particular attention to the choice of colors for the candles and background "to emphasize the upbeat nature of a playful, joyous holiday." The U.S. Postal Service will issue a new Holiday Celebrations series stamp each year reflecting a different cultural or ethnic holiday. The Postal Service will print 142 million of the Chanukah stamps."

Thus, that stamp and the year it was first issued, 1996, was historic, and was part of a turnaround, as explained:

"...In 1962 the United States Postal Service issued Its first Christmas Stamp and has been issuing new and different Christmas stamps every year since then. Beginning in 1965 and every year (with 3 exceptions) since then the USPS has issued a Christmas stamp with a religious theme (predominately the "Madonna & Child"). After years of refusing to issue a Hanukkah stamp, citing specific religious reference as the reason (while claiming the "Madonna & Child" stamps were merely art masterpiece reproductions), the United States Postal Service issued its first Hanukkah stamp in 1996. This only after, in November of 1994, the USPS announced it would discontinue the "Madonna & Child" Christmas because of its specific religious theme. And, within a week "Bowing to public pressure" reversed that decision. I'm sure the "pressure" came from Catholic organizations. Although a U.S. Hanukkah stamp has been "available" every year since 1996 it had been the same design through 2003. It was recycled leftovers from the previous year, or a revalued version as postal rates increased. During the same period of time there was a new "Madonna & Child" stamp almost every year (the exceptions being 2000 just before a rate increase in January 2001, and in 2003 supposedly to reduce stamp production costs). In 2004 the United States Postal Service issued the first new Hanukkah stamp design since1996. During the same period of time the USPS issued seven new "Madonna & Child" Christmas stamps and eight new Chinese New Year stamps..."

In 2004 after 8 years of reissuing the Mehorah design, the USPS issues a Dreidel design for the Hanukkah stamp. The Dreidel design was used through 2008. A new design for the Hanukkah stamp will be available in 2009.

Garden Deva Sculpture Company http://www.gardendeva.com was commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service to design and fabricate the menorah used on the 2009 Hanukkah stamp. After the reveal ceremony in New York City on October 9, the stamp will be available nationwide at all post offices.

The 2009 Hanukkah design features a photograph of a menorah with nine lit candles. The menorah was designed by Lisa Regan of the Garden Deva Sculpture Company in Tulsa, OK, and photographed by Ira Wexler of Braddock Heights, MD.
Spanning eight days and nights, Hanukkah is a joyous yearly festival celebrated by Jews around the world. The holiday commemorates the successful revolt of the Jews led by Judah Maccabee against the oppressive government of Antiochus IV and the Seleucid Empire in 165 BCE.

See also:

"This site: hanukkahstampquest.com is devoted to the effort of having the United States Postal Service issue a new and different Hanukkah stamp every year it issues a new one for Christmas. BACKGROUND will give you a little history of the fight for the Hanukkah stamp. CONSIDER THIS some facts to ponder. Is it bias and discrimination? CRITERIA shows that the USPS follows or ignores its own guidelines to suit their own purpose. FUTURE STAMPS gives you the information the USPS has told me as to whether or not there will be a new Hanukkah stamp in the near future. It also gives you the Postmaster General's address if you wish to write him and tell him you want a new Hanukkah stamp every year..."

And this from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

"Israeli-American Hanukkah Stamp: ISRAEL POSTAL AUTHORITY PHILATELIC SERVICE: October 22, 1996: The "Hanukkah Stamp", the first stamp to be jointly issued by Israel and the United States, was launched on Tuesday, October 22, 1996. Communications Minister Limor Livnat said: 'For the first time, a stamp has been jointly issed with the State of Israel's greatest friend - the United States. This is an additional expression of our special relationship, the American people's esteem and appreciation for the Jewish religion and culture, and the two countries' shared commitment to each other. There is no holiday more deserving than Hanukkah to be commemorated in a stamp by two great democracies. It symbolizes the freedom of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, which is the same freedom which provides the basis for American democracy.' The stamp has a drawing of a colorful menorah (special Hanukkah candelabra) with the Hebrew phrase - "A great miracle happened here" - on the tab. The Souvenir Leaf shows two stamps, one American and the other Israeli. The stamp is unique in that it is the first Israeli self-adhesive stamp. The Designer - Hannah Smotrich: Hannah Smotrich is an American graphic designer with her own studio in Washington, DC. A graduate of Harvard University and the masters program in Design at Yale School of Art, she is also an adjunct faculty member at the Corcoran School of Art. She has also lived and worked in Israel. The Hanukkah Holiday: The Hanukkah holiday and the lighting of the candles serve as a reminder to us, symbolizing the dedication of the Holy Temple following the victory of the Jews over the Greek Syrian forces, led by Antiochus Epiphanes, in the year 164 BCE. The Jewish rebellion against Greek rule broke out after Antiochus enforced edicts nullifying the religious beliefs of the peoples under his rule. Jews were forbidden to keep the Sabbath and conduct circumcisions, the Holy Temple was desecrated by idol worship, and the Jewish rituals previously conducted there were halted. The rebellion was led by Matityahu the Hasmonean, a priest from Modi'in, and his five sons. After a number of battles led by Judah the Maccabee, the City of Jerusalem was liberated from the Greeks. The Hasmoneans purified the Temple so that the worship of God could resume. They purified the seven-branched oil lamp in which the priests burned oil candles, and found one cruse of oil which had not been rendered impure by the Greeks. Tradition tells that the oil in this single small cruse lasted foreight days. This is the Miracle of Hanukkah. The Hanukkah holiday falls on the 25th day of Kislev. Since ancient times, it is customary to light candles in an eight-branched menorah (or Hanukkia). One candle is added for each day of the feast, until eight candles are lit on the last day of the holiday. The menorah is placed in a prominent spot or near a window so as to publicize the miracle. The eight candles are lit with a special candle, called the shamash. The candles in the menorah are not to serve any purpose other than being seen. Special holiday songs accompany the candle lighting, the best known of them being "Maoz Tzur". Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights and the Maccabee Holiday. Children particularly enjoy Hanukkah because of the holiday custom of eating doughnuts and potato latkes, fried in oil, to commemorate the miracle of the oil that lasted for eight days. The children also play games with a special Hanukkah spinning top and receive Hanukkah gifts. The lighting of the Hanukkah candles has become a symbol of the victory of light over darkness, of bravery and the struggle for freedom of faith and national liberty of a people in their homeland, the few battling against the myriad. The seven branched lamp has become part of the national symbol of the State of Israel." I hope this satisfies your need to "provide a reference so stating." as for your observation that " it is used in the article to illustrate "Blessings over the candles", and not near any discussion of the stamp itself" you will notice that the stamp depicts lit candles in a Hanukkah menorah