A Faraday effect optical isolator was constructed for the infrared region. The nonreciprocal element of the isolator was a lead glass rod in the magnetic field of a solenoid. A triple pass of the light beam through the glass decreased the magnetic field strength required for a 45° Faraday rotation. For 1.062 &mgr;, the isolator had a 1.4 dB insertion loss, and a 29 dB isolation. Slight optical imperfections in the isolator components limited the isolator operation.